Ranking the Top 5 Lionel Messi Hat-tricks in La Liga
Lionel Messi played his first game in La Liga on October 14, 2004, and 14 years after his debut, it is safe to say that he is the greatest player in the history of the Spanish League. He has the most goals and most assists in La Liga history and has 33 hattricks to his name which is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Right from his younger days, Messi possessed the ability to completely change the course of a match with his unmatchable talent and a sharp eye for goal.
His inherent ability to effortlessly dribble past the opposition defenders and his tendency to make outside-the-box screamers look easy has made him an invaluable commodity for Barcelona. In recent years, he has taken his freekick scoring rate to another level and has become the most complete player on the planet. 'Leo' has scored many game-changing hattricks throughout his career. This list consists of five such hattricks scored by Messi in La Liga.
#5 Barcelona vs Deportivo La Coruna ( 29/4/2018)
2017/18 season was supposed to be a difficult season for Barcelona in La Liga due to the departure of Neymar to PSG. But the little genius carried Barcelona to La Liga glory with another cool and composed performance. He scored the second goal for Barcelona in the 38th minute with a beautiful close-range volley after a looping ball from Luis Suarez. But Deportivo fought back and equalized in the second half.
But a stunning piece of build-up play between Suarez and Messi led to Barcelona’s third and title-clinching goal. In a perfect one-two moment, Messi passed the ball to Suarez and made a run to parry the ball into the net. The last goal was also assisted by Suarez and Messi’s lightning-quick acceleration was too quick for the opposition defenders and he safely deposited the ball past the goalkeeper to confirm Barcelona’s La Liga triumph. The great understanding between Suarez and Messi once again proved to be the X-factor for Barcelona.