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Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates - Source: Reuters -
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Gonzalo Higuain's clinical hat-trick fired Real Madrid back to
the top of La Liga on Monday after three sublime goals from his
Argentina team mate Lionel Messi had briefly lifted Barcelona back
above their arch-rivals.
The Spanish giants, level on 65 points from 26 matches, pulled
further away at the top as Barca defeated third-placed Valencia 3-0
at the Nou Camp and Real romped to a 4-1 victory at struggling Real
Valladolid in the late kickoff.
Real, dumped out of the Champions League by Olympique Lyon in
midweek, led champions Barca on goal difference and Valencia were
18 points back on 47. Sevilla, who drew 1-1 with Deportivo Coruna
on Sunday, were fourth on 44.
After a draw and a defeat in their previous four La Liga matches,
Barca needed a convincing performance at the Nou Camp to get their
title defence back on course and again it was league top scorer
Messi who made the difference.
The European champions found it difficult to exert their customary
dominance in a goalless first half before Messi weaved through the
Valencia defence in the 56th minute and fired a low shot past
goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez.
Substitute Thierry Henry, who scored a hat-trick against Valencia
last season, then set Messi up for his 21st and 22nd goals of the
campaign.
The first came after he cut in from the right and curled the ball
into the far corner and the second from a dinked effort that left
Sanchez on the seat of his pants.
"Messi is the best player in the world and makes everything
easier," assistant Barca coach Tito Vilanova, on the bench in place
of the suspended Pep Guardiola, told a news
conference.
Shattered Dream
Real went top on goal difference last weekend after Barca were held
2-2 at Almeria but the club were rocked on Thursday when Lyon
shattered their dream of winning a 10th European title at their
Bernabeu stadium in May.
A trademark Cristiano Ronaldo free kick set them on their way in
the 28th minute in Valladolid before Higuain scored his 17th, 18th
and 19th goals of the campaign to go second behind Messi in the La
Liga scoring charts.
A mistake from goalkeeper Iker Casillas gifted
relegation-threatened Valladolid a goal in the 58th when the Spain
captain's attempted clearance ricocheted into the net off Real
defender Raul Albiol.
"We had to shake off a lot of pressure which had filtered into the
dressing room," Real director general Jorge Valdano said in a
television interview.
"But (Ronaldo's) goal made things easier and opened the way for the
win," the Argentine added.
Barca and Valencia were both missing their leading strikers at the
Nou Camp, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended after his sending-off
in Almeria and Spain international David Villa sidelined with a
shoulder injury.
The best early chance fell to Valencia midfielder Jordi Alba in the
fifth minute. Portuguese defender Miguel Monteira whipped over a
cross and Alba's powerful header flashed narrowly over the
crossbar.
After Messi put the home side ahead, Barca keeper Victor Valdes
produced a superb stop to deny substitute Nikola Zigic in the 68th
with the Serb clean through on goal.
Valencia defender Hedwiges Maduro picked up a second yellow card
and was sent off with just over 20 minutes left before Messi struck
twice in two minutes to kill off the game.
In earlier matches, a goal in each half from Joseba Llorente and
Damian Escudero gave Villarreal a 2-0 home win over bottom side
Xerez.
Tenerife notched up only their sixth win of the campaign, beating
visiting Espanyol 4-1, relegation-threatened Racing Santander and
Real Zaragoza drew 0-0 and a Fernando Soriano strike gave Almeria a
1-0 home victory over Malaga.
