Malaga, Spain – Lionel Messi scored his fifth hat trick this 1, on Sunday at the Estadio La Rosaleda in La Liga.
Messi scored in the 33rd, 51st and 82nd minutes and Alexis Sanchez also scored during the stretch, as Barcelona remained five points behind first-place Real Madrid. Real defeated Athletic Bilbao, 4-1, on Sunday.
Barcelona grabbed the lead after 33 minutes when Messi reached Adriano's pass, and headed past Malaga goalie Wilfredo Caballero.
Sanchez added to Barca's lead in the 48th as he converted from close range and Messi added his second minutes later when finished a nice run to give Barca an insurmountable three-goal cushion.
Messi wasn't finished, though, as he beat Caballero from a tight angle to move his scoring total to 22 in La Liga this season, second only to Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rondon added a late consolation goal for Malaga, which lost for the third time in its last four matches and is 10th.
Real Madrid 4, Athletic Bilbao 1
Madrid, Spain - Cristiano Ronaldo converted two second-half penalties and Real Madrid defeated 10-man Athletic Bilbao, 4-1, on Sunday to maintain its cushion atop La Liga.
Fernando Llorente fired Bilbao into the lead after 13 minutes at the Bernabeu, but the visitors' lead last just 12 minutes as Marcelo scored in the 25th.
Ronaldo was on target from the spot in the 47th and 67th, with the latter when Oscar was sent off, as he maintained first place in La Liga's scoring chart on 23 goals. Barcelona's Lionel Messi is second with 22.
Jose Callejon added a fourth goal 4 minutes from time for Real Madrid, which won its third straight. Athletic Bilbao had its five-fixture undefeated streak snapped, and is seventh.
Osasuna 1, Valencia 1
Navarra, Spain - Lolo scored 2 minutes into stoppage time, just after Valencia had David Albelda sent off, as Osasuna rescued a point at Estadio El Sadar on Sunday in La Liga with a 1-1 draw.
Roberto Soldado had just fired Valencia into the lead after 84 minutes, but it was not enough as Albelda was sent off early in stoppage time, and Lolo struck the resulting free kick into the net.
Valencia remained third in the standings but has now lost sight of the top two places, as Barcelona is nine points clear in second.
Osasuna picked up a point to climb to sixth, just four points behind Levante for a Champions League place.
Mallorca 1, Rayo Vallecano 0
Madrid, Spain - Ivan Ramis scored in the 57th minute as Mallorca won on the road for the second time this season, 1-0 over Rayo Vallecano at the Teresa Rivero on Sunday in La Liga.
Mallorca has lost just three times in nine road matches, and has accumulated 10 points from those games to sit 14th in the standings.
Rayo Vallecano lost for the fifth time at home this season, and sits ahead of Mallorca in 13th on goal differential.
Levante 0, Real Zaragoza 0
Valencia, Spain - Levante dropped points at home to last-place Real Zaragoza, as the clubs played to a 0-0 tie Sunday at the Ciutat de Valencia in La Liga.
Levante could have moved within two points of third-place Valencia, but failed to put even a single shot on goal against a side that is winless on the road.
Levante still sits fourth on 31 points although its winless run reached four. Zaragoza stayed at the foot of the table on just 12 points as its run without a win reached 12 matches.
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