Betis 1-4 Barca: Messi HAT-TRICK sends them 10 pts clear at top as Suarez scores

Barcelona moved 10 points clear of Atletico Madrid atop LaLiga thanks to another inspirational display from captain Lionel Messi.

Match Report

Lionel Messi broke yet another Barcelona record as he scored a stunning hat-trick in a superb 4-1 win at Real Betis, sending Ernesto Valverde's men 10 points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Atletico Madrid's surprise defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday gave Barca the chance to stretch their advantage at the summit going into the final international break of the season.

Messi scored twice in the first half at the Benito Villamarin, his first an unstoppable free-kick and his second coming moments before the interval, with Luis Suarez - who hurt his ankle late on - adding a third after the break.

On the day Messi drew level with Andres Iniesta on 674 appearances for Barca, the captain moved ahead of Xavi to set a new club record for featuring in wins - this victory becoming his 477th.

Player Ratings

Match Events

18'GOAL! Betis 0-1 Barcelona (Messi)

MESSI GIVES BARCELONA THE LEAD IN STYLE! Barcelona won a free-kick on the edge of the box and the captain stepped up to take it. He curled it beautifully into the top-left corner and out of the reach of Lopez. 1-0 Barcelona!

33' CLOSE! Jese's shot inches wide out

Tello makes a run into the box from the left wing and tries to catch out Ter Stegen at his near post, but the keeper gets down well to save it. Jese gets on the end of the rebound and aims his shot at the far post, but it is just wide.

40' How could Suarez miss such a chance?

SUAREZ COMES CLOSE! He gets lucky after the ball rebounds off Sidnei back to him and his shot is aimed for the near post. Lopez looked like he had it covered, but his effort was into the side netting.

47'GOAL! Betis 0-2 Barcelona (Messi)

MESSI DOUBLES BARCELONA'S LEAD! All of the defenders had moved towards Suarez, leaving Messi in some space and he reaches the ball first and just pokes it past the keeper to get his second of the game. 2-0 Barcelona!

63'GOAL! Betis 0-3 Barcelona (Suarez)

SUAREZ MAKES IT THREE! He drifted past three Betis defenders to get one-on-one with the keeper once again, but this time he doesn't miss as he hits his shot low and powerful into the bottom corner of the net. 3-0 Barcelona!

82'GOAL! Betis 1-3 Barcelona (Moron)

MORON PULLS ONE BACK FOR BETIS! The chance looked like it had gone to waste at first, but Moron makes the run to the edge of the box to hit his shot first time and the ball nestles into the bottom corner. 3-1!

85'GOAL! Betis 1-4 Barcelona (Messi)

MESSI GETS HIS HAT-TRICK! It's a brilliant finish from the Barcelona captain as he runs onto the ball at the edge of the box and chips the shot over the defenders and the keeper. It bounces off the bottom of the crossbar before hitting the back of the net. 4-1 Barcelona!

Line-ups

Betis XI: Joaquín, A. Guardado, Sidnei , Canales, Mandi, Bartra, Tello, William Carvalho, Jesé, Pau López, G. Lo Celso

Subs: Joel Robles, S.León, Feddal, W. Kaptoum, Loren Morón, Emerson, Diego Lainez

Barcelona XI: L. Messi, L. Suárez, Piqué, I. Rakitić, Vidal, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, M. ter Stegen, S.Roberto, Lenglet, Arthur

Subs: Prince, Philippe Coutinho, J. Cillessen, S. Umtiti, Semedo, Carles Aleñá, Malcom