Lionel Messi was grateful for the amazing ovation he received from the home Real Betis fans, after a thrilling performance which included a hat-trick at the Benito Villamarin on Sunday.
Messi completed his 33rd La Liga hat-trick on Sunday, which included a delightful free-kick, and an outrageous chip over the keeper, who could only watch on and acknowledge the Argentine's brilliance.
This performance led to Messi receiving a stunning response from the Betis crowd after the match, as the home fans still saluted his brilliance even though he had just inflicted a 4-1 defeat on them. After the match, Messi went on to say that he has never experienced the opposing crowd saluting him after such a performance, and that he "is grateful for the response from the fans."
To top it all off, Messi broke another record on Sunday, as he became the player to get the most wins in a Barcelona shirt, getting 477 wins, beating Xavi, who has 476 wins with the Blaugrana.
Despite the full-time result, Barcelona were made to fight for the win, as they only had 43.9% possession, their lowest figure in La Liga since 2004/05, and they had to rely on the Argentine talisman's brilliance in possession, turning that rather low figure into something special.
Messi's display looks set to give Barcelona the La Liga title once again, as they stretched their lead at the top to ten points over Atletico Madrid. Will Manchester United be able to keep Messi and co quiet?
