Messi marvels as Barca blaze past Real

Barcelona blew the La Liga title race wide open when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 comeback win for the Spanish football league champions at 10-man Real Madrid in a thrilling El Clasico clash on Monday morning. The hat trick by Barca’s Argentine striker and an assist was decisive, but it turned out to be a mere subplot in the thriller at the Real’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The contest turned physical and controversial in the second half, as the referee awarded a disputed penalty kick to Cristiano Ronaldo, sent Sergio Ramos off and cautioned a host of other players. The victory propels Barca back into the heated race for the La Liga tittle, as they trail leaders Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid by just one point. The win also will silence talk about a crisis at Barcelona and give head coach Gerardo Martino more capital in both the dressing room and the boardroom. A pulsating 45 minutes produced a football spectacle worthy of its hype with four goals, plenty of fireworks and end-to-end action throughout. In the fourth minute, Messi slid a lovely pass through to Neymar who was clear on the right but the young Brazilian fired straight at Diego Lopez from a tight angle. The powerful running of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo unbalanced the Barca defence, while Angel di Maria’s pinpoint passing set up both of Karim Benzema’s goals. Barca took a seventh-minute lead at when Messi released Andres Iniesta who smashed a thunderous drive high past a helpless Diego Lopez with the ball crashing in off the underside of the bar, according to a news agency.