Messi closes in on Ronaldo’s record with another ‘trick for Barcelona as Real and Atletico Madrid also advance

Messi grabbed three goals – inclubing a sublime header – to notch his 22nd Primera Liga hat-trick as all the top teams scored easy wins to remain in a tight bunch.

Lionel Messi tipped the ball over Deportivo de la Coruna goalkeeper Fabricio for his and Barcelona’s first goal. Miguel Vidal / Reuters

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his players’ reaction to their Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid in midweek as they won 3-0 over Getafe yesterday.

Victory ensured the European champions will top the table at the halfway mark of the campaign, and Ancelotti said he believes they are well on course for a second Primera Liga title in seven years.

“This first half of the season has been very good,” the Italian said. “We started with some problems and then had a great run.

“We suffered a defeat in Valencia, but the team has great desire to win this competition and we are well-positioned. We just need to keep going.”

It was far from a vintage performance by Ancelotti’s men for large spells at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum, but there was no way back for Getafe after some individual skill from Karim Benzema teed up Cristiano Ronaldo to slot home the opener just after the hour mark.

Gareth Bale then doubled the visitors’ lead before Ronaldo rounded off the scoring with his 36th goal of the season.

“At the start we played a bit slow, but I liked the performance because the team played with intelligence and much better in the second-half than the first,” Ancelotti said.

“I think the whole team played well, but the assist by Karim opened the game up for us. It was extraordinary.”

Real have failed to replicate the heights of the form that they showed on a 22-game winning run to finish 2014 so far this year as they were beaten by Valencia in league play before falling to city rivals Atletico in the Copa del Rey.

However, Ancelotti said he was confident that his side were slowly finding their way back to top form.

“I think the intensity with which we played at the end of the year was a little bit better, but the team is improving,” he said.

“We didn’t come back from Christmas in the best shape. James [Rodriguez] played an extraordinary game. He is getting back to his top form. Little by little we are returning to our best level.”

Real captain Iker Casillas had a comfortable afternoon in goal as Getafe failed to register a single shot on target.

And he echoed Ronaldo’s words after the elimination to Atletico in midweek that a lack of cup action in the coming weeks could boost their league campaign.

“Unfortunately, we lost in the cup, where we were the holders, but there are no excuses,” Casillas said. “Now we have more time to prepare for games and can train harder.

“As Cristiano said, we hope it will be one step backwards to take two forwards further down the line.”

Barcelona responded to Real’s win with an emphatic display from Lionel Messi as the Catalan side eased to a 4-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.

Messi grabbed three goals – inclubing a sublime header – to notch his 22nd Primera Liga hat-trick, one less than record-holder Ronaldo.

The Argentine opened the scoring with a rare header when he guided home a lofted through-ball from Ivan Rakitic into the net on 11 minutes.

It was 2-0 when Messi got on the end of a Neymar pass and he chipped over Deportivo goalkeeper Fabricio.

The Argentine’s hat-trick was secured with a fine finish from the edge of the area.

To rub salt in the Deportivo wounds, defender Alberto Lopo kicked the ball straight at teammate Sidnei and it deflected into the home side’s net as the clock wound down.

Earlier, in Madrid, Atletico striker Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring at the Vicente Calderon Stadium when he converted a penalty kick in the 34th minute after Diego Godin was fouled by Abdoul Sissoko while trying to reach Fernando Torres’ pass.

The victory allowed Atletico to climb back into third place in the league table, moving Valencia down to fourth. Atletico are four points adrift of league leaders Real and three behind Barcelona.