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Lionel Messi's hat-trick inspired Barcelona to another La Liga win as they came from behind to thrash Espanyol 5-1 in the derby.
A day after Cristiano Ronaldo set a new Primera Division record for hat tricks with 23, Messi smashed three goals to move to 21 la liga hat-tricks and secure local bragging rights for Barca in Catalonia.
Espanyol took a surprise lead after 13 minutes as Sergio Garcia made the most of some lazy defending from Gerard Pique to find the net with a right-footed finish.
Messi restored parity at the stroke of half-time, squeezing a shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner of Kiko Casilla’s net.
The Argentine provided another moment of magic five minutes after the restart, taking Luis Suarez’s pass before nutmegging a defender and finishing past Casilla.
Pique completed a rapid turnaround at the start of the second half, powering home a header from a corner kick to give Barcelona a 3-1 lead before substitute Pedro Rodriguez added a fourth after 77 minutes, breaking beyond the Espanyol defence to finish into the far corner.
Messi completed his hat-trick with just under 10 minutes left, applying the finishing touch to a move orchestrated by Pedro, overtaking Alfredo Di Stefano in the all-time list of players with the most hat-tricks in Spanish football. Messi, with 12 goals, becomes the all-time top scorer in the derbies against Espanyol.
Barcelona 0-1 Espanyol: Sergio Garcia (13’)
Sergio Garcia kept on carrying the ball from the right flank to the box with Pique just running alongside him and not offering a challenge. The Espanyol forward took advantage of Pique’s poor defending and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to take the lead at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona 1-1 Espanyol: Lionel Messi (45’)
Lionel Messi levelled things with a typical Messi goal. Xavi’s pass found Messi in acres of space and he took a touch to set himself up and hit a blistering left-footed shot to get Barcelona level in the derby.
Barcelona 2-1 Espanyol: Lionel Messi (50’)
Luis Suarez’s pass found Lionel Messi on the edge of the box. The Argentine nutmegged the charging defender and hit a right-footed shot on the right side of the goalkeeper to score his second goal of the match.
Barcelona 3-1 Espanyol: Gerard Pique (53’)
Ivan Rakitic took a precise corner and Gerard Pique lost his marker with ease. All that was left to do was head it past the hapless Kiko Casilla and the Spaniard headed it into the ground to increase Barcelona’s lead.
Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol: Pedro (77’)
A lofted pass by Jordi Alba found Pedro through on goal. The substitute’s right-footed shot found the side netting for Barcelona’s fourth goal in the derby.
Barcelona 5-1 Espanyol: Lionel Messi (81’)
A fleeting Barcelona move saw Lionel Messi attract defenders and he easily found Pedro on the right, who passed it first time for the Argentine to complete his hat-trick.
