Lionel Messi Ties La Liga Record After Fantastic Display During Barcelona Derby Win

It was yet another fantastic afternoon for the great Lionel Messi. Barcelona faced their local rivals Espanyol at Camp Nou with the chance to temporarily extend

It was yet another fantastic afternoon for the great Lionel Messi.

Barcelona faced their local rivals Espanyol at Camp Nou with the chance to temporarily extend their lead at the top of La Liga to 13 points ahead of Atletico Madrid, although things weren't exactly going La Blaugrana's way.

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The home side were held for 70 minutes despite dominating proceedings, and it took a piece of brilliance from the magic man to break the deadlock. Messi had a free kick right on the edge of the area but rather than powering it into the top corner or curling the ball around the wall, he instead opted to chip the ball which seemed to bamboozle Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez  to make it 1-0.

The goal seemed to settle the Barcelona nerves and after a fine flowing move forward Messi doubled his and Barca's tally for the day with a neat finish to secure a 2-0 win and take his remarkable La Liga goal tally for the season to 31 goals in 27 appearances.

Not only was it a great performance from the forward but it was also a record-equalling day, as shown by Opta. The win was his 334th in La Liga in his career, which means he has now tied Iker Casillas for the most La Liga wins in history.

334 - @FCBarcelona_es ’s Leo Messi is now the player to win more games in LaLiga history (334, alongside Iker Casillas). Myth. pic.twitter.com/xsL2yLcnZK

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 30, 2019

He'll have the chance to be the stand-alone leader in wins should Barcelona pick up another three points when they travel to face Villarreal on Tuesday night, and it likely won't be the last record he'll break in what has already been a phenomenal career for the 31-year-old.