Barcelona’s Lionel Messi gets hat-trick vs. Real Betis

March 18 (UPI) — Lionel Messi had the opposing fans clapping for him after netting a hat-trick in FC Barcelona’s win against Real Betis.

The star striker drew first blood for the La Liga power before scoring twice in the second half of the 4-1 win Sunday at Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville, Spain.

Messi’s first score came in the 18th minute. The Argentinian lined up a free kick from about 25 yards out. Messi smacked the ball with his left boot, sending it toward the far post. The ball curved back in at the last minute, beating keeper Pau Lopez.

Messi gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead just before halftime. He outran the defense to find a perfectly placed pass from Luis Suarez. Messi tapped the ball in as three trailing defenders fell to the ground.

Suarez opened scoring in the second half, netting a pass from Gerard Pique in the 63rd minute. Real Betis closed the gap to two goals when Loren Moron scored in the 82nd minute. Moron hit a one-touch strike past Marc-Andre ter Stegen for his squad’s only goal of the match.

Then it was time for Messi to cap off his hat-trick. The superstar saved his best goal for last. Messi received a pass from Ivan Rakitic in the left side of the box. He used his first touch to chip the ball toward the far post. The ball sailed over Lopez and smacked off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.

“It’s a great feeling,” Messi told FCBarcelona.com. “I’m really happy with the way the fans here reacted to the final goal, so I would just like to thank them.”

“We knew how important this game was.”

Messi now has 51 career hat-tricks.

Barcelona has another La Liga matchup against Espanyol at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, March 30 at Camp Nou in Barcelona.