Messi makes history and leads his side to victory over Sevilla

The Camp Nou experienced a magical night in the 12th round of Liga BBVA when Sevilla came to town. The Catalan outfit downed the Andalusians 5-1, with Lionel Messi the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick that saw him overtake Telmo Zarra as Liga BBVA’s all-time top goalscorer with 253 goals.

Barcelona started the match with a great intensity, getting close to the Sevilla goal on a number of occasions. Messi and Luis Suárez had the first chances, with Beto producing a couple of top saves. There was little that the Portuguese stopper could do after 21 minutes, however, when Messi equalled Zarra’s record with and outstanding free-kick.

The second-half could not have started better for Sevilla, who levelled up proceedings thanks to a Jordi Alba own goal from a Vitolo cross. However their joy was short-lived as Neymar put Barcelona ahead two minutes later. Former Sevilla man Rakitić made it 3-1 before Messi made more history. The Argentine then wrote his name into folklore in the 72nd minute when he beat the record and was hoisted up by his teammates in celebration. Then, six minutes later, Messi scored his third of the night to make it 5-1.