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What's the story?
Lionel Messi completed a stunning hattrick to inspire Barcelona to a tough LaLiga win over Sevilla on Saturday. It was Messi's 50th hattrick of his career, which included a stunning volley in the 26th minute to make it 1-1.
In case you didn't know...
Barcelona started the game on the top of the LaLiga table, seven points above the second-placed Atletico Madrid. Messi has been phenomenal for the Catalan giants this season with 22 goals in LaLiga before the start of the game.
His third strike on the day was his 650th career goal - 585 for his club and 65 for Argentina. With Luis Suarez not at his best, Messi is single-handedly shouldering Barcelona's chances of winning a treble this season.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona went in the game knowing that a win would open up a 10-point gap in the LaLiga title race. Sevilla drew first blood as Jesus Navas opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. However, Messi levelled the score a few minutes later with a stunning volley.
Ivan Rakitic found Messi with an accurate cross from the left and the five-time Ballon d’Or winner unleashed a stunning volley into the top corner. It was an unstoppable strike from Messi, which stunned the entire stadium.
He then went on to score two more goals to lead Barcelona to complete his 50th career hattrick. Barcelona won the game 4-2 and opened up a big gap between them and other title contenders in the LaLiga points table.
Video of Messi's stunning strike:
What's next?
Barcelona next plays Real Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. They will have to face Real Madrid for the second time in a few days when they play them in LaLiga.
