Lionel Messi: Barcelona and Argentina captain scores 51st hat-trick and the stats are sensational

Lionel Messi: Barcelona and Argentina captain scores 51st hat-trick and the stats are sensational
As the ball clipped the underside of the crossbar and hit the back of the Real Betis net, the home supporters at the Benito Villamarn Stadium rose as one to applaud.Some even bowed to acknowledge the maestro, simply a joy to watch when he is in such form.3

Lionel Messi continues to defy description after yet another stunning hat-trick

Lionel Messi had just scored his 51st hat-trick for club and country and even the most ardent Betis supporter was left in awe.After a scorching free-kick and a clinical finish in the first-half, Messi capped off a wonderful personal display on Sunday night with an impudent chip which very few players would even consider trying.

51 career hattricks for Messi What a way to get it pic.twitter.com/1bIKQukV2i— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 17, 2019

12 years ago at the Camp Nou, as a teenage prodigy the Argentina international scored his first treble. The stage was none other than a potentially La Liga-deciding Clasico, but Messi was as composed as the veteran we see gliding past defenders at will to this very day.Since that day in March 2007, the 31-year-old has returned eight hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League, 33 in the league, three in the Copa del Rey, one in the Spanish Super Cup and a further six at international level.3

Messi acknowledges the Betis fans as they give him a standing ovation

With the league potentially already decided and with Manchester United up next in Europe, there is still plenty of time for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to add to his collection of match balls.Below, talkSPORT.com takes a look at the incredible numbers behind Messi’s haul of hat-tricks.

• Messi’s 33 Liga trebles are second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 34, so overhauling the Portuguese now plying his trade with Juventus in Serie Ais a realistic ambition for the Blaugrana ace.
• Valencia, Osasuna, Espanyol and Deportivo have been Messi’s favoured opponents in La Liga, the No.10 claiming hat-tricks against each of them on three separate occasions (he has a Copa del Rey treble against Valencia too); Messi also has three hat-tricks against Sevilla, including two in the Liga and one in the Spanish Super Cup, and three against Atltico two Liga and one Copa del Rey.

3

Messi and Ronaldo continue to produce incredible moments on a football pitch

• At international level, the most crucial of Messi’s six Argentina hat-tricks came in Ecuador in October 2017, his triple strike securing the Albiceleste a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
• Messi’s club-mate Surez boasts an outstanding hat-trick return: the Uruguayan plundered nine for Ajax, six for Liverpool (three of them against Norwich) and has 12 for Barcelona as well as a further two for his nation.
• Three other South Americans Sergio Aguero, Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao have reached double figures for hat-tricks in recent years, while the relentless Robert Lewandowski leads the European charge.

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