Messi makes three in nine-goal Galician thriller
Barça hangs on for 4-5 against Depor, as Real beats Celta
Most men about to become a father for the first time would be expected to wind down their work commitments. Leo Messi — whose partner Antonella Roccuzzo is about to give birth to their baby son Thiago — of course, isn’t most men. Fresh from international duty with Argentina, not only did he start Barcelona’s match away against Deportivo La Coruña, he also knocked in a crucial hat-trick in a bizarre nine-goal encounter.
An auspicious opening found the Catalans 0-3 up after just 18 minutes with strikes from Jordi Alba, Cristian Tello and Messi. But without their defensive kernel of Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué, Tito Vilanova’s men suddenly started to look vulnerable. A penalty from Portuguese forward Pizzi, after Javier Mascherano was adjudged to have fouled Riki, and a strike by Álex Bergantiños on 37 minutes brought the Galicians right back into the match.
Messi reinstated Barça’s two-goal advantage three minutes before half-time thanks to what was probably the pass of the season by Cesc Fàbregas, only for Pizzi to close it again and Mascherano to see red for another challenge on Riki right after the restart. The Argentinean’s 75th-minute third might have settled some nerves if Alba’s botched clearance hadn’t found his own net two minutes later.
It left a 10-man Barça desperately holding on for a 4-5 victory and Depor fans in the bittersweet position of having put four past the mighty Catalans but still having won no reward.
Barça thus maintains its eight-point advantage over Real Madrid, which overcame the absence of injured first-choice fullbacks Marcelo and Álvaro Arbeloa to make lighter work of Depor’s Galician rival Celta at the Bernabéu. Michael Essien stepped in on the left and Ramos moved back to his old position on the right to prop up a hyper-offensive starting 11 that found room for Mesut Özil, Kaká and Luka Modric. The product was a 2-0 victory after a first-half strike from Gonzalo Higuaín and a 68-minute penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Other results: Valencia 3-2 Athletic; Málaga 2-1 Valladolid; Getafe 0-1 Levante; Espanyol 3-2 Rayo Vallecano.
