FC Barcelona scored an impressive 4-0 Deportivo La Coruna, but Real Madrid kept their slim lead in the Spanish La Liga table after also cruising to a 3-0 win over Getafe on Sunday.
Messi had another stellar performance for FC Barcelona, scoring his 30th hat-trick for the club and his 22nd in La Liga, which made him the second player in history to tally 30 hat-tricks for a Spanish club after Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra.
Messi opened up the scoring parade for Barca as he combined with Ivan Rakitic for a beautiful header in the 10th minute. Deportivo had their first scoring chance in the 26th minute, but Ivan Cavaleiro blew the opportunity to score the equalizer.
The Argentine superstar then dealt Deportivo another blow as he netted another goal in the 33rd minute to double their advantage. Messi had a chance to complete his hat-trick before the break, but his shot went off the right hand side of the goal.
Messi managed to complete the feat, though, in the 66th minute off a perfect corner kick from Rakitic. Sidnei added insult to Deportivo's injury with an own goal in the 83rd minute of the match.
After the match, FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique had nothing but praises for Messi, who has now scored 19 goals in as many games this season for Barca.
"Messi has been brilliant all season," Enrique said via the club's official website. "I never noticed a drop in his form."
But while he was happy with their performance against Deportivo, Enrique said that they have a lot of things to improve on if they want to win the league title this season.
"It's always good for the players to win but there are still things we need to improve both in attack and defense," Enrique said. "That's only way that we can challenge for titles, which is our main target for the season."
With the win, FC Barcelona now have 44 points halfway through the season, but are still second in the table behind Real Madrid, who managed to keep their advantage over their rivals.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a brace, while Gareth Bale also netted a goal to lead Real Madrid to a 3-0 win against Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Sunday.
Real Madrid still hold a precarious one-point lead over FC Barcelona in the title race. Defending La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are in third place with 41 points, followed by Sevilla FC with 39 points in 18 matches.
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