Madrid (AFP) - Lionel Messi became the all-time top goalscorer in La Liga history with a hat-trick as Barcelona swept aside Sevilla 5-1 on Saturday to remain two points adrift of league leaders Real Madrid.Messi moved level with legendary Basque striker Telmo Zarra when he opened the scoring with a trademark free-kick to register his 251st goal in his 289th appearance in the Spanish top flight.A Jordi Alba own goal briefly brought Sevilla level early in the second-half, but Neymar swiftly restored Barca's advantage before Ivan Rakitic made the game safe when he headed home Luis Suarez's enticing cross against his old club.Messi then took over as he slid in to convert Neymar's low cross to set a new record mark and extended it moments later with a precise low finish to seal and round off a fine evening for Luis Enrique's men against a side that started the evening just two points adrift of the Catalans.Earlier, Real Madrid saw off Basque minnows Eibar's dreams of a giant-killing thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo double to register their 14th consecutive win in all competitions with a 4-0 victory.And champions Atletico Madrid remain four points off the top as they overcame Malaga 3-1 at the Vicente Calderon thanks to goals from Tiago, Antoine Griezmann and Diego Godin.Sevilla were expected to pose a serious threat to a Barca side that has struggled in recent La Liga outings.

Topics:  afp    lionel messi   telmo zarra   spanish   jordi   ivan rakitic   luis enrique   catalans   earlier   cristiano ronaldo   atletico   malaga   vicente calderon   tiago   antoine griezmann   diego   godin   argentine   andalusians   nico pareja   vitolo   gerard pique   xavi   brazilian   world player   year   ipurua   european   james rodriguez   karim benzema   xabi irureta   carlo   ancelotti   madrid   messi   la liga   barcelona   sevilla   real   zarra   alba   neymar   luis suarez   eibar   ronaldo   barca   beto   portuguese   suarez   record   hat-trick   cross   goal   top   minutes   game   home   headed   register   free-kick   corner   points   hosts   slid   run   continue   first-half   basque   adrift   level   outings   remain   keeper   champions   deny   scoring   side   evening   left   league   
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