Lionel Messi’s four goals took him past the 40-goal mark for a third straight season and guided Barcelona to a 5-1 victory over Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Barcelona had to come from behind to stay within 10 points of leader Real Madrid, trailing after nine minutes at the Camp Nou stadium through Pablo Piatti’s goal.
But Messi’s memorable match started with a 22nd-minute equaliser, and he put his team in front seven minutes later when goalkeeper Diego Alves failed to hold the rebound from his shot.
Messi powered a loose ball beyond Alves for his third in the 76th, before lobbing the Brazilian ‘keeper in the 85th to mark his 200th game for Barcelona with his 146th goal.
Xavi Hernandez scored in stoppage-time.
