#3 Lionel Messi vs Real Madrid, 2007
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There is no better way to leave a lasting impact on the hearts of Barcelona fans than finding the back of the net against arch-rivals Barcelona. Lionel Messi was back then known as a promising product of the famed La Masia academy, who had the potential to be the best in the business with the passage of time.
Having impressed since being promoted to the senior Barca side in the 2004-05 season, the Argentine magician truly established himself as a star when he scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid in a league outing on 10th March 2007, in the process becoming the first player in 12 years to score a hat trick in 12 years.
The little magician, who was just 19 years old at that time, opened Barcelona’s scoring in the 10th minute as he latched on to a pass across the Real Madrid box before unleashing his deadly left foot to leave Iker Casillas reeling. His second goal came in the 27th minute when the Real Madrid defence failed to deal properly with Ronaldinho and the ball fell loose to Lionel Messi to volley it home.
However, it was his final goal on the evening that truly caught the eye as Messi demonstrated his ability to beat players with his pace as well as silky touch. Messi received the ball just outside the Real Madrid box and instantly took out 2 players with his first touch. He left another Madrid defender before finding the far bottom corner of Iker Casillas’ goal to notch up his first hat trick against his side’s arch-rivals.
His performance ensured that he got a standing ovation from both the sets of fans, the first since the legendary Diego Maradona and this could be termed as the game that was the beginning of many more magical evenings to come for the Argentine.
