Messi "confident" of beating Real Madrid after 50th hat-trick
After scoring his 50th hat-trick against Sevilla, Lionel Messi said he is confident Barcelona can go on to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.
Lionel Messi bagged his 50th career hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday.
The Argentine managed to level the scoreboard on two occasions after the visitors had gone behind 1-0 and 2-1. His third goal in the 86th minute finally gave Barcelona the lead for the first time in the game, before Luis Suarez netted a fourth deep into injury time to seal the victory for Ernesto Valverde's side.
Messi’s 50th hat-trick comes almost 12 years after his first one against Real Madrid in a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou.
After the Sevilla game, the Barcelona striker spoke to broadcaster beIN about the upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Madrid at the Bernabéu, where both teams start the game at 1-1 after the first encounter two weeks ago.
“We’re just a step away from getting into the Cup final and we have to go for everything," said the hat-trick hero. “It's going to be very hard because it's in Madrid but we have to go there and win. We are confident that we can win in Madrid.”
Long way to go in LaLiga - Messi
Four days after the Copa del Rey tie Barcelona will be back in the Bernabéu to face Madrid in LaLiga, where they now have a 12-point lead over Los Blancos, who have one game in hand. But despite Barca’s comfortable lead, Messi believes the league is far from over.
“There is a long way to go," he told beIN SPORTS. "But it was really important to win because of what it means to win here and to keep our distance ahead of our rivals.
"Now more than ever, you have to use your head. Every time, it becomes more difficult to win, so we go away happy. We know what this ground is and what players they have. It was a difficult match for us but we were able to move forward."