Messi hypnotizes Valencia with 3 goals

Barcelona came away from Valencia's Mestalla with three highly valuable points, keeping them in the number one spot of the Liga BBVA. A hat-trick from Messi (11', 39' and 41') gave the Catalan team a comfortable lead, but then a brace by Postiga in the last minute of the first half gave the game a whole new edge.

The first half was quite spectacular, as Barça's clear dominance, with the brilliance of its three goals, followed by the local team's amazing comeback, never gave the crowd a dull moment. Messi's three goals had his team winning 0-3 on the 44th minute, but Postiga's rapid-fire brace just before the half-time whistle threw the game's final result back up in the air.

Valencia came out with all guns blazing after the break, in with a good chance of making it equal, and the match was evenly balanced in the first minutes, with both teams having their shots at goal. The most gasp-inducing was perhaps by Barça's Pedro, who headed the ball wide on the 63rd minute.

A great and entertaining game, and with just 15 minutes to go, anything could have happened, with Barcelona having had their share of chances at scoring the fourth. Jonas almost did on the 85th minute, but at the death the second half proved goalless, all the work having been done beforehand.


/Marca.Com/