Messi slices Los Che apart

Lionel Messi London - Arabstoday Four goals for Lionel Messi took him past the 40-goal mark for a third straight season and guided Barcelona to a comfortable victory over Valencia in La Liga on Sunday. Barcelona had to come from behind to stay within 10 points of leaders Real Madrid, trailing after nine minutes at the Camp Nou stadium thanks to Pablo Piatti's goal. But Messi's memorable match started with a 22nd-minute equalizer before putting his team in front seven minutes later, converting the rebound when goalkeeper Diego Alves failed to hold onto his shot. Messi powered a loose ball beyond Alves for his third in the 76th minute, before lobbing the Brazilian stopper a few minutes later to mark his 200th game for Barcelona with his 146th goal. Xavi Hernandez finished off the rout in stoppage time.