Earlier today, Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's loss on Saturday to move to the top of La Liga's charts at the expense of their bitter rivals.
Rayo Vallecano proved to be no match for Luis Enrique's men as they cruised to a comfortable 6-1 win at Camp Nou, courtesy of a goal from Gerard Pique, a brace from Luis Suarez, and a hat-trick from talismanic attacker Lionel Messi.
Messi's treble was particularly significant as it has now helped the Argentinian ace to break several records and pull even with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has struggled lately in the race for the league's top scorer crown with 30 goals in 26 appearances.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are now tied as they battle it out for La Liga's top scorer prize
In addition, here are some stats behind La Pulga's 11-minute trio of goals:
- This is the 24th hat-trick for Messi, meaning that he now surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo's previously established record of 23 in La Liga.
- The four time Ballon d'Or winner now has a total of 32 hat-tricks in all Spanish football competitions, putting him ahead of Zarra's 31, Di Stefano's 28 and CR7's 27.
- He now has 41 goals and 21 assists in 38 official games for Barcelona so far this season.
- In Messi's last 340 official games, he has scored 342 goals, averaging out to a bit more than one goal per match.
- His penalty for his first goal - which was retaken after the referee determined some encroachment on the part of Rayo - was his 60th so far for the Blaugrana. This means he has equaled CR7's total of 60 for Real Madrid, however, his Ballon d'Or rival still boasts a superior conversion rate: 55/60 versus Messi's 47/60.
- With 41 goals (and counting) he now has become the first player to score at least 40 goals in six different seasons in La Liga.
Have a look Messi's hat-trick in Barcelona's 6-1 humiliation of Rayo Vallecano:
How the La Liga table looks with El Classico looming on the horizon:
