Messi takes Barca 11 points clear, Ronaldo scores four
DOMINANT With 20 win over Athletic Bilbao, the Catalans have now gone unbeaten in 36 La Liga games
MADRID: Lionel Messi delivered another masterful performance as Barcelona sailed past Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to take an 11-point lead over Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
After putting Chelsea to the sword in the Champions League, Messi scored for the sixth game in a row against Athletic at the Camp Nou to propel Barca closer to the title.
“Every day he discovers something new, something different, he’s very aware of what he has to do, what the team needs from him at each moment,” Barca coach Erneste Valverde said.
Not to be outdone by his greatest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo then hit four goals as Real Madrid downed Girona 6-3 to move into third spot.
A dominant start from Barca yielded the first goal after just eight minutes as Messi found Jordi Alba on the left, his pullback side-footed into the far corner by Paco Alcacer.
The hosts looked a constant threat early on and Philippe Coutinho was denied a second when he rattled the woodwork, while Ousmane Dembele should have done much better with just Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat.
But the Athletic goalkeeper was powerless to keep out a crunching low drive from Messi on the half hour, the Argentine taking a touch to control a pass before lashing home.
Barca extended their unbeaten La Liga run to 36 matches dating back to last season, drawing to within two games of the record set Real Sociedad between 1979 and 1980.
RONALDO’S 50TH CAREER HATTRICK
Real Madrid reclaimed third place from Valencia when Ronaldo took his goals tally this season to 22 with four in a 6-3 victory over Girona.
Ronaldo, netted his 50th hattrick and has now scored 21 goals in all competitions in 13 games since the turn of the year.
“I hope that he can catch Messi in La Liga (he is three goals behind), it’s important for him and for us,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane.
The Portuguese star opened the scoring with a deflection after 11 minutes, adding his second off the crossbar three minutes after the break when the two sides had been locked 1-1.
Ronaldo teed up Lucas Vazquez on the hour mark before completing his hat-trick four minutes later and adding a fourth
in stoppage time.
Second-placed Atletico effectively surrendered their hopes of overhauling Barca at the top, as two late goals from 20-year-old Turkey striker Enes Unal handed Villarreal a 2-1 victory over Diego Simeone’s side.
Antoine Griezmann converted a first-half penalty after he was impeded by Jaume Costa But Unal headed in an 82nd-minute equaliser for the hosts and turned home a stoppage-time winner as Villarreal climbed up to fifth.