Lionel Messi broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most LaLiga hat tricks with three goals in a 5-2 win over Mallorca on Saturday at the Bernabeu, the same week Messi won his record sixth Ballon d’Or.
Messi scored in the 17th, 41st and 83rd minutes as Barcelona leapt back in front of Real Madrid atop the LaLiga table, on goal difference. The two face off in a rescheduled El Clásico on Dec. 18.
Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez each scored as well for Barcelona, which put 17 of 25 shots on target. The five goals scored would have been far more had it not been for the stellar play of Mallorca keeper Manuel.
Messi now has 35 LaLiga hat tricks, one more than Ronaldo.
LIONEL MESSI HAT TRICK!
He breaks Ronaldo's record for the most hat tricks in La Liga history! pic.twitter.com/CfFLcgr0ew— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 7, 2019
To be fair to Ronaldo, he recorded his 34 hat tricks in 292 games, far fewer than Messi, who did it in 462. Both are legends of the game.
Messi’s first on Saturday was the best. Given too much space at the top of the box, the Argentine zipped a gorgeous shot past Manuel.
Messi again found an inch of space to whip in a shot in the 41st minute to make it 3-1.
And he completed his hat trick in the 83rd minute, utilizing some strong hold-up play from Suarez to first-time a shot no one in the world could have saved.
Messi now has 12 goals and five assists in 10 LaLiga matches this season, which is insane. No wonder he won the Ballon d’Or.
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