Lionel Messi scored three times to surpass Telmo Zarra's long-standing La Liga goalscoring record in Barcelona's 5-1 victory over Sevilla this evening.
The game's first shot came via the boot of the Argentina international, who looked to curl an effort beyond the reach of Beto at his near post, but the visiting keeper managed to keep the ball out.
Barca continued to up the ante as the first half progressed, and they were rewarded with a goal on the 22-minute mark when Messi found the net with his well-placed free kick, this time putting enough bend on the ball to beat Beto.
The strike ensured that Messi equalled Zarra's record of 251 goals in the Spanish top flight, but further chances proved to be few and far between, with Daniel Carrico's clearance off the line from Jordi Alba's effort the closest that either side came to the contest's second before the interval.
Just two minutes after the restart, Los Rojiblancos, who had not won in their previous two games, equalised when Alba put the ball into his own net following Vitolo's cross.
Yet Sevilla were unable to keep the game level for long, with Neymar re-establishing the Catalan giants' advantage by heading beyond Beto to make it 2-1.
That sparked a Barcelona onslaught as Ivan Rakitic nodded home against his former side to extend the lead, before Messi added his second to move beyond Zarra's tally, sliding in at the back post to finish off Neymar's pass.
Messi was not finished there, though, and he completed his hat-trick 12 minutes from time with a well-struck effort into the bottom corner which put the icing on the cake.
The win lifts Luis Enrique's charges back to within two points of league leaders Real Madrid, while Sevilla remain in fifth place.
Daniel Lewis
