Another magical night was witnessed in La Liga once again with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez proving their worth to Barcelona once more. The pair landed themselves on the scoresheet as the Blaugrana run away with an emphatic 4-1 victory in Sunday's La Liga encounter at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.
The historic night was set in motion after Lionel Messi matched Andres Iniesta's record for all-time appearances in official matches for Barcelona. Currently, the 31-year-old forward and his former skipper are tied at 674 while club legend Xavi Hernandez comfortably seats atop the chart with 767.
Today's game matches Leo #Messi with @andresiniesta8 for all-time appearances for Barça in official matches Congratulations! #BetisBarça pic.twitter.com/W7mdoYahOX
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 17, 2019
In the proceeding, Lionel Messi was called into action in the 18th-minute where he netted a superb free kick to break the deadlock. The striker then added his second of the night on the brink of half time before Luis Suarez scored a third after the break. The former Liverpool forward, as a result, moved level with Diego Forlan as the highest scoring Uruguayan in La Liga history with 128 goals.
| Suarez is now the joint top scoring Uruguayan in LaLiga with 128 goals. Same as Diego Forlan. pic.twitter.com/aJaTdyoM0v
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) March 17, 2019
Loren Moron pulled one back for the host in the 82nd minute before Messi secured his hat trick in sublime fashion with a long-range lobbed goal three minutes later.
Sometimes, all you can do is applaud
— Goal (@goal) March 17, 2019
Real Betis fans showed their appreciation for a Messi masterclass pic.twitter.com/6s5EiZ0jKW
A new club record was as a result achieved with the Barcelona No. 10 (477) surpassing Xavi (476) as the player in the club's history with the most number of wins. Also, the Blaugrana skipper extended his career hat tricks to 51.
A new club record for the number of wins in a Barça shirt!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 17, 2019
And he does it by scoring a hat-trick!
Messi, you BEAUTY! pic.twitter.com/pGgBCDCSev