MESSI BREAKS THE RECORDS
In a back and forth game that saw several lead changes and finished with Barcelona edging their eternal rivals, Real Madrid, by the score of 4-3, Lionel Messi broke more records. Another day at the office you say? It's certainly looking that way as the marvelous Argentine can't seem to make it a game without rewriting the record books.
Today he became the first Barcelona player to score two hat-tricks in El Clasico history. Think about it for a second, with all the star power Barcelona possessed over its storied history, nobody has ever scored two hat-tricks against Real Madrid. He is also the first player to score a hat-trick against a team managed by Carlo Ancelotti
With his second goal of the night Messi also became the top foreign La Liga goalscorer, breaking Hugo Sánchez record of 234 that stood since 1994. As we all know Messi went on to add another goal to bring his La Liga count to 236 goals.
And to round that off, Real Madrid is now Messi's favorite target in all competitions as the 21 goals he scored against the Madrid team tops the charts. If you were wondering, Atletico Madrid is a distant second on that table with 20 goals against. The 21 goals scored in El Clasico history also represents a record, a record that Messi until today shared with Alfredo Di Stéfano. After the hat-trick the duo are now also tied for most La Liga El Clasico goals with 14.
Picking up an assist on Iniesta's opener Messi also extended his own record of most assists in El Clasico history. His count has now reached 12 which tops both teams in this category.
Words fail to describe Messi's greatness, but maybe the record book will be able to fully grasp the wonder that is Lionel Messi