Barcelona players laud Lionel Messi after hat-trick

Madrid: Lionel Messi's Barcelona team mates lavished extravagant praise on the Argentina forward after his sublime hat-trick fired the champions to a 3-0 win over third-placed Valencia in La Liga on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Fifa World Player of the Year broke the deadlock in the 56th minute at the Nou Camp with a trademark weaving run and clinical finish and struck two more late on to take his league tally for the season to 22.



"Messi seems to have no limit and we hope he carries on like this," Barca's Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta told reporters.

"We are finding it hard to score goals and getting forward with a player like Leo can be the deciding factor in the match," he added. "Hopefully we'll be able to continue speaking so well about Messi."

Barca's Argentine central defender Gabriel Milito said, "In tight matches Messi pops up and does what only he can." Forward Pedro added, "Leo played a great match and scored three magnificent goals."

Messi's triple came on the same day as his Argentina team mate Gonzalo Higuain bagged a hat-trick for Real Madrid that kept them above Barca at the top of the standings on goal difference and the pair's superb form bodes well for Diego Maradona's side at the World Cup in South Africa.

"I am very pleased with the triumph and for the way the team played in the second half and also for the three goals," Messi told reporters, adding that he dedicated one of the goals to the daughter of his cousin who was born recently.

"I am focusing on continuing like this for the good of the team and not for individual awards," he said.

"The whole team played well, especially in the second half when we pressured them and kept the ball."

Holders Barca play Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart in their Champions League last-16 second-leg on Wednesday after the first leg in Germany ended 1-1.

Messi Driven to Hit New Heights

Thanks to UEFA for the nice Interview .Occasionally when truly great footballers achieve fame, wealth and success, the ingredient in their make-up which is most easily corroded is the powerful hunger which once fired their drive for supremacy.If that were to apply to Lionel Messi then now would be the moment in question. His club, FC Barcelona, mounted a brilliant campaign to win the UEFA Champions League last season amid a torrent of trophies; the Spanish title, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.The Argentinian was also rewarded with a clean sweep of the most illustrious individual awards: being named in the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year, winning the Ballon d'Or and rounding it off with the FIFA World Player of the Year gong.Despite all this, Barcelona's next opponents in their UEFA Champions League defence, VfB Stuttgart, should be aware that Messi remains ravenous for more of the same. "We have already written a page in history but we want to continue doing that," he told UEFA.com. "We have to take advantage of this great team; all of us feel that."This is a special moment and the squad and technical staff all know that if we keep working hard then, step by step, we will achieve more and more. That's all the motivation you need. It would be nice to become the first side to retain the Champions League and we will see whether we achieve it."Josep Guardiola will be without the injured Eric Abidal and Seydou Keita for the Stuttgart trip, while Daniel Alves and Xavi Hernàndez are doubtful more reason, perhaps, for Barça to heed Messi's warnings. "German sides are always strong," he said.
"However, we have a good recent record against Bundesliga teams. It's also helpful to play the second leg at Camp Nou. So we will be ready for the test and the Barça mentality is that we travel to Germany with the intention of winning the first leg in order to make the return game calmer."
Statistics back up Messi's memories; the Blaugrana's last five trips to Germany have yielded three wins and two draws, most recently 1-1 in last term's quarter-final at FC Bayern München to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory.Barcelona's rise under Guardiola, from having won no trophies in the two seasons prior to his arrival in summer 2008 to their status as Spanish, European and World champions, has been characterised by Messi's development as a prolific goal-provider and scorer.This term he has already scored 16 times in the Liga, two more in Europe and supplied ten assists in all competitions. All this follows the 2008/2009 campaign when his header in the Rome final against Manchester United FC helped confirm him as the UEFA Champions League leading scorer with nine, part of a season consisting of 38 goals and 19 assists.Messi is quick to spread the acclaim. "First of all, it's due to the type of game this team plays the number of chances Barça create makes it easier to score," he added. "Another aspect is my confidence. Perhaps when I started, in my first seasons, it took more time and effort to score, and it was difficult for me to constantly play so close to the opponents' goalmouth. With the confidence I have now it is much easier."Before beginning preparations for the trip to Stuttgart, Messi also has a word of appreciation for the tens of thousands who voted him into the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2009. "It is a beautiful feeling that people recognise my work, and that they are with me," he said. "Also, to be the one with the most votes [250,000 in all], when many great players had been nominated, feels like great appreciation."

Messi Scores Late to Keep Barcelona in Top Spot

Lionel Messi’s late goal gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Málaga, keeping it at the top of the Spanish league after Real Madrid had earlier won at Tenerife, 5-1, to temporarily lead the standings.

Barcelona dominated possession and created plenty of chances yet could not convert until Pedro Rodriguez beat the goalkeeper Gustavo Munúa in the 70th minute Saturday.

Valmiro Lopez equalized for Málaga in the 81st minute, but Daniel Alves crossed for Messi’s winner in the 84th minute.

Gonzalo Higuaín scored two first-half goals for Madrid. The Argentina forward hit a first-time shot with his left foot from Marcelo’s pass to score in the 29th minute. He added his 16th league goal of the season with his other foot from the edge of the area in the 42nd minute, from Ezequiel Garay’s assist.

Higuaín set Kaká up to score with a through pass in the 48th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo scored Madrid’s fourth from the penalty spot in the 79th minute, and the substitute Raúl González tapped the ball into the net in injury time.

For Tenerife, Ayoze García headed the ball out of Iker Casillas’s hands and into the net in the 47th minute. The referee ignored the goalkeeper’s claim that the goal was illegal.

ITALY Inter Milan scored three first half goals to beat Udinese, 3-2, on Sunday and maintain its four point lead at the top of Serie A ahead of A.C. Milan.

Mario Balotelli, Maicon and Diego Milito scored after Simone Pepe had given Udinese an early lead. Antonio Di Natale converted a penalty shortly after the restart, but José Mourinho’s team held on for the victory.

Meanwhile, Milan comfortably beat Atalanta, 3-1. Alexandre Pato scored twice in the first half, Jaime Valdes responded for Atalanta, but Marco Borriello found the net to secure the victory for Milan.

Roma had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Napoli. Julio Baptista and Mirko Vucinic put Roma 2-0 ahead, but German Denis brought Napoli back into the match in the 75th minute and Marek Hamsik scored an injury time penalty for a share of the points.

On Saturday, the Fiorentina substitute Keirrison equalized in injury time in a 1-1 draw with Lazio.

FRANCE Joris Marveaux scored twice as Montpellier beat Rennes, 3-1, to draw level on points with the French league leader, Bordeaux, but having played two games more.

Bordeaux, the defending champion, tops the standings because it has a better goal difference. Bordeaux was scheduled to play at Le Mans on Sunday, but the game was postponed because of bad weather forecasts.

Marveaux broke the deadlock when left unmarked at the far post, heading in Alberto Costa’s free kick in the 25th minute. The Rennes goalkeeper, Nicolas Douchez, then failed to clear another set piece from Costa and gifted the ball to Marveaux, who coolly slotted home in the 36th minute.

Jimmy Briand of Rennes pulled one back in the 70th minute from close range. Souleymane Camara capped his team’s performance in the 82nd minute with a curled shot following a swift counterattack.

Earlier, Lisandro López scored his 11th goal of the season as Lyon beat Nice, 2-0.

GERMANY Bayer Leverkusen set the Bundesliga record for the best start to the seaso