It was a night of footballing extravaganza as Barcelona defeated Real Betis to go 10 points clear of Atletico Madrid. But Lionel Messi – who scored a hat-trick, and a sensational one at that – would call it just another Sunday.
It was much more than just another night for the Argentine who added a few more records to his name.
To start with, Messi equaled Andres Iniesta’s all-time appearances for Barcelona in official matches with 674 games under his belt. Only Xavi (767) has more appearances. Carles Puyol (593) is next on the list.
He opened the scoring with a perfect free-kick to get the better of Betis custodian Pau Lopez. Just before half-time, he linked up with Luis Suarez to add one more goal to his tally. In the second half, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner produced an audacious chip from the edge of the box to beat Lopez for a third time.
With that goal, Messi is just one behind Cristiano Ronaldo for most hat-tricks (34) in La Liga. You wouldn’t put it past the 31-year-old to go one up and break the record by the end of the season.
Lionel Messi and Xavi
Lastly, Messi surpassed Xavi as the Barcelona player with most wins in all competitions. In 767 matches, Xavi recorded 476 wins, at a rate of 62 percent. Messi now has 477 wins as a Barcelona player in 674 appearances, at a rate of 71 percent.
The Argentine’s consistent excellence on the pitch has enabled him to create records every other game. So in a way, was it really just another night for him?