Betis ace breaks Di Stefano’s old record

BETIS skipper Joaquin took his place in the history books against Bilbao as he became the oldest player to score a La Liga hat-trick.

The 38-year-old, who is in his second spell with his boyhood club, had never managed to net a treble before in 19 years as a pro.

But he managed the feat inside 20 minutes against Athletic yesterday to put them on the way to a 3-2 win.

That saw him surpass Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who was 37 when he bagged his last hat-trick in Spain’s top flight.

“It’s the first hat-trick of my life and I don’t think I’ll be able to get another one after this.”

Despite Joaquin’s claim he now has five goals in his last three games for Betis, who moved up to 11th with a third consecutive win.

They were coasting at 3-0 up, only for Inaki Williams’ penalty and a Yuri Berchiche strike to make Betis sweat.

All the action at the top in Spain came on Saturday.

Lionel Messi celebrated his sixth Ballon d’Or with a brilliant hat-trick as Barcelona moved back top with a thrilling 5-2 victory over Real Mallorca.

Antoine Griezmann also scored while Luis Suarez netted a sublime backheel.

French star Griezmann said: “This was a special night for Leo and we wanted to have a good performance for him.”

Real Madrid had earlier moved top for a few hours with a 2-0 win over Espanyol at the Bernabeu.

Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema put them in the driving seat with goals in each half.

But Real had Ferland Mendy sent off late on and had to hold firm with 10 men.