Lionel Messi ended his goal drought with a bang. Four of them in fact.
The FC Barcelona superstar scored four goals Saturday in his team’s 5-0 win over Eibar. Messi hadn’t scored in almost four-and-a-half La Liga (Spanish League) games, but he eased any anxieties over a dip in form by scoring three goals in the first 40 minutes of the contest.
??♂️ "Trying to tackle him is like wrestling with a ghost!" – @RayHudson
Messi dances to put @FCBarcelona in front of @SDEibarEN #BarcaEibar
? – beIN SPORTS
??beIN SPORTS CONNECT: https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/8OtN6wufML— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
? It's that man again! Messi has his second and @FCBarcelona have a 2-0 lead over @SDEibarEN #BarcaEibar
? – beIN SPORTS
?? – beIN SPORTS CONNECT: https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/Tw2eHEmvmj— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
You can see Messi’s third goal in the video below at the 3:00 mark.
The hat trick was the 48th of Messi’s Barcelona career, moving him one past Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo in that statistical department, according to Sky Sports. The hat trick also was the second-fastest of Messi’s career, per Opta.
The halftime whistle didn’t represent the end of Messi’s scoring binge. He added a fourth goal late in the second half.
He's not finished!! ?4️⃣
Braithwaite gets the assist as Messi nets his FOURTH goal of the day! #BarcaEibar pic.twitter.com/iWRrPfWRiM— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
It was the second time in Messi’s career he had scored four goals — a “poker” in soccer parlance — against Eibar, and the club hailed him in a postgame tweet.
“We suffer from you,” Eibar wrote in a tweet. “We have to endure you. We have to cope with you. And we have no choice to stand up and applaud you. ? @TeamMessi ?”
Te sufrimos.
Te padecemos.
Te sobrellevamos.
Y no nos queda otra que ponernos en pie y aplaudirte.
? @TeamMessi ? pic.twitter.com/6md5L4ZSE3— SD Eibar (@SDEibar) February 22, 2020
Messi now has scored 696 goals and assisted 306 others, becoming the first player in soccer history to register 1,000-plus goal involvements, according to Sky Sports.
Barcelona moved atop La Liga’s standings with the emphatic win over Eibar. Second-place Real Madrid will play later Saturday.
