Lionel Messi put together a dominant performance in the first half of Barcelona's 5-0 La Liga win over Eibar, netting a hat trick in the first 40 minutes of the match and adding a fourth late in the second half to snap a four-game scoring drought in emphatic fashion.
It almost seemed as if the Argentine was just three steps ahead of everyone else on the pitch, making Eibar's defense look silly time and time again with his flair and fancy footwork, solidifying arguably one of his best performances of the season.
His first goal was the best of the bunch and it included a slick nutmeg before a lightly lofted finish. Take a look at this piece of magic:
👻🤼♂️ "Trying to tackle him is like wrestling with a ghost!" - @RayHudson
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
Messi dances to put @FCBarcelona in front of @SDEibarEN #BarcaEibar
📺 - beIN SPORTS
💻📱beIN SPORTS CONNECT: https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/8OtN6wufML
Hard to find a slicker effort than that with bonus points on the nutmeg. Filthy. Unfortunately for Eibar, he was just getting started. He made it 2-0 in the 37th minute by slotting home a shot to the far post after getting into space inside the box.
🤩 It's that man again! Messi has his second and @FCBarcelona have a 2-0 lead over @SDEibarEN #BarcaEibar
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
📺 - beIN SPORTS
💻📱 - beIN SPORTS CONNECT: https://t.co/LRYa03w6yI pic.twitter.com/Tw2eHEmvmj
His third came on a loose ball in the box, easily finishing past the goalkeeper in what's a significant result for Quique Setien's team, although expected. Messi added his fourth in the 87th minute.
He's not finished!! 🐐4️⃣
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 22, 2020
Braithwaite gets the assist as Messi nets his FOURTH goal of the day! #BarcaEibar pic.twitter.com/iWRrPfWRiM
The 5-0 victory pushes Barca above rival Real Madrid into first place for the time being, with Real playing Levante later in the day.
Next Sunday, Barca and Real Madrid square off in El Clasico at 3 p.m. ET -- fuboTV (Try for free). But before that, the Catalan giants have a mid-week Champions League test against Napoli.
There's a good chance that once El Clasico rolls around, we'll see these two teams separated by only a point with one potentially delivering the other a fatal blow in the title race. The two teams met in December at the Camp Nou and drew 0-0 in their first meeting that was rescheduled from October after violent protests in Barcelona.