BARCELONA went second in La Liga after Lionel Messi scored a brilliant hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday while Cristiano Ronaldo recorded another treble in 10-man Real Madrids 6-2 drubbing of Rayo Vallecano.
The two Spanish heavyweights dropped points in their previous games but returned to winning ways with dominant home performances engineered by their two outstanding players.
Valencia suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 1-0 at nine-man Sevilla and Athletic Bilbaos new coach Marcelo Bielsa is still without a win after the Basque club surrendered the lead in a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal. Barca, bidding for a fourth straight title, have 11 points from five games, level with third-placed Sevilla and one ahead of Real Madrid and Valencia.
Promoted Real Betis, the surprise early leaders, have 12 points from four games and visit Getafe tonight.
Valencia squandered a chance to go top when Ever Banega fluffed a penalty and they lost a bad-tempered clash. Visiting Valencia finished with 10 men after Aritz Aduriz was sent off for stamping on Emir Spahic. Sevilla midfielder Piotr Trochowski and defender Julien Escude were also dismissed in the 57th and 68th minutes respectively.
