体坛英语新闻：Messi hit hat-trick as Barca stay on top in Matchday 16 in Spain

MADRID, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Leo Messi scored a hat-trick as FC Barcelona romped to a 5-0 win away to Levante on Sunday night to retain their three point lead at the top of the Liga Santander.

Barca already led 1-0 after Luis Suarez opened the scoring following a Messi pass, when Messi scored his first goal.

The Argentinean doubled Barca's lead from a Sergio Busquets pass two minutes before the break and sealed the win in the first minute of the second half with a low left foot shot into the right hand corner of the Levante net.

He completed his hat-trick from close range after good work from Arturo Vidal and Gerard Pique rounded off the scoring two minutes from the end.

Sevilla remain in second place after second half goals from Ever Banega (from the penalty spot) and Pablo Sarabia saw Pablo Machin's side to a 2-0 win over his former club - Girona.

Betis came back from behind to defeat Espanyol 3-1 to extend Espanyol's losing streak to 5 games.

Sergio Garcia opened the scoring for Espanyol after Giovani Lo Celso had seen his penalty saved by Diego Lopez, but Lo Celso made up with a powerful shot to level the scores before halftime.

Cristian Tello put Betis ahead with a free kick with 5 minutes remaining and Oscar Duarte's own goal in the closing second ended another miserable day for Espanyol.

There were 3 penalties as Huesca drew 2-2 at home to Villarreal, with the visitors having to thank Sergio Asenjo for a series of excellent saves to earn them a point in Luis Garcia's league debut as coach.

Gonzalo Melero missed a chance to put Huesca 2-1 ahead from the spot and after Gerard Moreno looked to have given Villarreal all three points, Samuele Longo scored from close range to make it 2-2.

Real Madrid were booed off the pitch on Saturday despite beating struggling Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in their last Liga Santander game before flying out to play in the World Club Cup.

Karim Benzema's early goal following a pass from Lucas Vazquez was enough to give Santiago Solari's side all three points, although missed chances led to some nervous moments in the closing minutes.

Rayo have the worst defensive record in the league, but Madrid had goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for a double save to ensure the win in the 90th minute and the fans made their discontent known at the final whistle.

Atletico Madrid took all three points following a rollercoaster game in Valladolid's Nuevo Zorrilla Stadium. The points had looked secure at halftime thanks to Nikola Kalinic's second goal in two games and an Antoine Griezmann strike in the 13th minute.

Five chaotic minutes in the second half saw Valladolid fight back to 2-2 through Fernando Calero and a Saul own goal, before Griezmann's decisive strike 10 minutes from time.

Jorge Molina's third minute goal gave Getafe a 1-0 home win against Real Sociedad, while Eibar and Valencia drew 1-1 with Charles' second half penalty for Eibar cancelling out Rodrigo Moreno's 29th minute goal for the visitors.

Valencia missed several first half chances, but a needless handball spotted by the VAR condemned them to their 9th draw of the season.

The round of games kicked off on Friday night with a 0-0 draw between Celta Vigo and Leganes which was much more exciting that the score suggested and which extends Leganes' unbeaten run to 8 games in all competitions.