Prague, Nov 2: Lionel Messi scored a hat trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over 10-man Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday and secure a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Messi scored his 200th goal for Barcelona by slotting into the bottom left side of the net from the penalty spot in the 24th minute after he was brought down in the area by Marian Cisovsky. The Plzen defender received a red card for the tackle.
Messi added his second in first-half injury time after receiving a one-touch pass from Adriano to net from inside the area with a clinical low shot past goalkeeper Roman Pavlik.
Isaac Cuenca crossed for Cesc Fabregas from the right to head in the third from close range in the 72nd before Messi burst into the area in injury time to collect a backheel pass from Gerard Pique to complete his second hat trick in four days. It was the 14th hat trick of his career and fourth of the season.
“I'm happy, but not just for the result but for how we played and also because of Milan's result,” Messi said.
Barcelona tops Group H with 10 points after Milan was held to a 1-1 draw at Belarus champion BATE Borisov in another group match on Tuesday. However, that was enough for the Italian side to also advance.
“It's not easy to come to a stadium like this and play against the pressure they showed, they are a physical team,” Messi said.
BATE has two points with Plzen on just one, with the two sides fighting for third place in the group in the and a spot in the Europa League.
Messi took his tally to 23 goals this season as Barcelona extended its unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions.
After he ended a goal drought of three matches with a hat trick when Barcelona beat Mallorca 5-0 on Saturday, Messi had several more chances to increase his tally on Tuesday.
He first tested Pavlik with a left-foot long range drive seven minutes into the match and, and also came close three minutes before the break, forcing Pavlik to a diving save with a fierce attempt from the edge of the area. He threatened again with a curling free kick in the 54th minute, and shot wide just a minute before the final whistle.
But Messi claimed scoring was not the main objective for him.
“My objective is to keep on this way, to keep helping the team,” he said.
Tuesday's match was the 200th for coach Pep Guardiola in charge of Barcelona, with a record of 144 wins, 39 draws and 17 losses.
Guardiola rested striker David Villa on Tuesday while midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez were on the bench.
Thiago Alcantara fired over the crossbar in the 11th as the visitors gradually took control, and his header in the 67th bounced off the crossbar.
Plzen had a clear scoring opportunity in the 17th, with Milan Petrzela failing to beat Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes in a one-on-one situation on a quick counterattack.
The save helped Valdes set a record for the longest run without conceding a goal for the club.
After 38 minutes on Tuesday, he broke the mark of 824 minutes set by Miguel Reina in the 1972-73 season.
The last time Valdes conceded a goal was on Sept. 21 in a 2-2 draw against Valencia.
Barcelona next travels to Milan on Nov. 23 while Plzen plays at BATE.
