Another hat-trick, new leaders and a run of form at home

Almost all of the games from matchday 26 of the Liga BBVA have been played and as per usual we have picked out the key moments. Leo Messi and FC Barcelona, Villarreal CF,  Elche CF and Levante UD were some of the main characters from the national league’s last round of games.

Leo Messi catches up with the leading scorer

The Argentinian scored three goals in the FC Barcelona 6-1 Rayo Vallecano match and drew level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 30 goals as the leading goalscorers. Also, thanks to his three goals, the Barcelona forward, Leo Messi managed to break another record, and become the La Liga BBVA player with the most hat-tricks, overtaking Telmo Zarra, with his 32nd hat-trick. 

A new leader

With Barcelona’s thrashing on Rayo, Luis Enrique’s men finally managed to chase down Real Madrid at the top of the table. Thanks to the latest victory and Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat against Athletic Club, 62 points is enough for the Catalan side to go top of the table and therefore the title now depends on their performances. Barcelona have had a great run of results having won eight of their last nine games.

The Madrigal, a little fortress

Villarreal kept up their home run. Marcelino García Toral’s men won 4-1 against Celta and notched up their eighth consecutive victory at the Madrigal. The Castellón side have not lost a home game since 2 November 2014, when they were defeated 1-3 by Valencia CF. With the win this weekend, they equal the run of victories during the 2004/2005 season under Manuel Pellegrini.

Another Levante comeback

Levante UD got their third consecutive home win following the 2-1 win against SD Eibar. Also, each of those three wins came following a comeback. Before Eibar, Lucas Alcaraz’ men beat Málaga CF and Granada CF, and the last victory takes them out of the relegation zone.

2015, a good year for Elche

Elche are enjoying the New Year. Already into March, Fran Escribá’s men have taken 17 of 30 possible points in 2015 thanks to the latest victory this weekend against UD Almería, 1-0. Their good performances this year are enough to put them into 14th place on 27 points.