Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick with his brilliant third goal applauded by opposition fans as Barcelona beat Real Betis Balompie 4-1 to open up a commanding 10-point Serie A lead on Sunday.
Messi struck with a powerful free kick in the 17th minute. He added a second goal just before halftime from a pass by Luis Suarez, who added a third goal at the Benito Villamarin Stadium.
However, Messi saved his best for late after Betis substitute Loren Moron had pulled one back for the hosts. Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer used one touch of his left boot to float the ball from the left side of the box over goalkeeper Pau Lopez, with his shot grazing the underside of the bar before going in, triggering applause from fans of both teams.
Messi said he had never received such a tribute from opposing fans.
“No, I can’t remember that happening before. I am grateful. We are always treated well when we play here,” Messi said after his 45th hat-trick for Barcelona.
“I was fortunate enough to get the goals and we took the three points, because we had a great chance to increase the distance with Atletico that we couldn’t let get away,” he added.
Messi, who also hit the post just before the final whistle, leads the league with 29 goals and has scored 39 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions this season.
Barcelona’s last league loss was 4-3 at home to Betis in November last year. They are undefeated in 16 rounds and are on course to successfully defend their league title after taking full advantage of second-placed Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Ernesto Valverde’s team has also reached the final of the Copa del Rey and is to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League next month.
There are 10 rounds remaining, but with Messi and his teammates playing at this level and with such a large cushion of points, only a complete collapse could deny Barcelona a 26th league title.
“It depends on us staying aware that nothing is decided yet,” Messi said. “Worse things have happened. There are still lots of points in play and we have to keep playing like this.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite