La Liga: Lionel Messi overtakes Di Stefano with brace

Lionel Messi moved into joint third place in the all-time Primera Division scoring charts with a brace as Barcelona demolished Rayo Vallecano 6-0

Barcelona: Lionel Messi moved into joint third place in the all-time Primera Division scoring charts with a brace as Barcelona demolished Rayo Vallecano 6-0.


Barcelona's Lionel Messi. Pic/AFP 

Messi struck in the 36th and 68th minutes of a completely one-sided match at the Nou Camp to move above Alfredo Di Stefano (227) in the record books and level with another Real Madrid legend, Raul, on 228 La Liga goals.

Adriano opened the floodgates in just the second minute and Alexis Sanchez (53), Pedro Rodriguez (56) and a fantastic Neymar goal (89) added to Messi's double.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their title aspirations with a commanding 3-0 win at home to Real Valladolid, ending a three-game losing streak.

Two goals in the opening four minutes from Raul Garcia and Diego Costa got Atletico off to a flying start and Diego Godin added a third in the second half to seal a morale-boosting victory for Diego Simeone's men.

The win briefly put Atletico on top, until Barca overtook them again on goal difference with their victory. In the day's other game, David Barral's excellent volley was all Levante needed to see off Almeria 1-0.

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