FC Barcelona faced one of the season’s biggest challenges last night, when third placed Valencia visited the Nou Camp.

A number of key players were missing from both squads, but Valencia were able to unsettle Barça’s rhythm by frequently taking the ball off them, making it a very uneasy first half for the Catalans. However, with Henry brought on in the second half Messi finally put one in the net for Barça in minute 55.

And when Valencia went one man down thanks to a second yellow card for Maduro the game started to go more in Barcelona’s way; Messi scored in the 80th and 82nd minute to make it his fourth hat-trick for Barça and earned a standing ovation from the crowd towards the end of the match.

While Barcelona kept hold of the three points available to them, so did Real Madrid. The two clubs are equal on points, with Madrid topping the league.

| Category La Liga