Sevilla 2-4 Barcelona: Lionel Messi hits hat-trick and Luis Suarez also scores as Barcelona come from behind twice to secure victory Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona twice came from behind to win 4-2 away to Sevilla Jesus Navas put Sevilla ahead in the 22nd minute after he was set up by Wissam Ben Yedder Messi equalised for Barcelona four minutes later having been teed up by Ivan Rakitic Gabriel Mercado scored to put Sevilla back in the lead just prior to the half-time whistle Messi scored Barcelona's second equaliser in the 67th minute before scoring again in the 85th minute Luis Suarez, who has been heavily criticised recently, scored Barcelona's fourth goal late on Barcelona remain top of table in La Liga, with Sevilla staying in fifth place following this result By Pete Jenson for MailOnline Published: 17:06 GMT, 23 February 2019 | Updated: 17:12 GMT, 23 February 2019 3 Viewcomments Advertisement On 22 minutes Lionel Messi gave the ball away and Sevilla scored to make it 1-0. How did he make up for his mistake? He scored a hat-trick and won the game almost single-handed for Barcelona. Barcelona have scored 65 goals this season in La Liga and Messi has scored 25 of them. They rely on him more than ever. Without him at the Sanchez Pizjuan Sevilla would have clipped Barcelona’s wings and closed the gap at the top. Thanks to Messi the leaders are flying higher than ever. The Sevilla opener came on 22 minutes and it was Messi who gave the ball away in his own half. In a flash – thanks to Quincy Promes’ quick pass to Wissam Ben Yedder – Sevilla were attacking Barcelona with a three against two situation in their favour. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona twice came from behind to beat Sevilla in La Liga Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his second goal of the game to pull Barcelona level against Sevilla Sevilla players celebrate with Gabriel Mercado after the Argentine restored his side's lead against Barcelona Ben Yedder carried the ball to the edge of the area and it was 33-year-old Jesus Navas, who had sprinted 60 yards to join the attack, who arrived to shoot past Marc Andre ter Stegen to make it 1-0. Gerard Pique was furious with the way the defence had been left exposed and with the way the ball had been lost and not recovered. Messi, one of the main culprits made amends spectacularly, first in just four minutes with the equaliser. Luis Suarez played the ball out to Ivan Rakitic and when he crossed left-footed, Messi volleyed left-footed past Tomas Vaclik. Sevilla’s confidence was not dented and Ben Yedder flicked the ball up over Gerard Pique’s head on the edge of the penalty area. He pulled the forward back and was yellow carded. Three minutes before the break Sevilla took the lead again. A Ter Stegen clearance went straight to Ever Banega and he got Sevilla moving quickly down the right. Pablo Sarrabia raced to the byline and when he pulled the ball back it was defender Gabriel Mercado who put Sevilla 2-1 up. Mercado's goal in the 42nd of the game saw Sevilla regain the lead against Barcelona in an intriguing clash Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the equaliser for Barcelona shortly after Sevilla had made it 1-0 The Barcelona players were quick to congratulate Messi following his 31st goal of the season It was a measure of Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde’s concern that he made two changes at half time bringing on Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Roberto for Arturo Vidal and Nelson Semedo. Barcelona should have been level on 53 minutes when Messi found Suarez and he crossed for Dembele but with only the goalkeeper to beat he miskicked his chance wide. With Barcelona’s next attack Simon Kjaer slid in on Suarez missed the ball and clipped his ankle. The officials – VAR included – got it all wrong not giving a penalty and giving a corner even though it had been Suarez who had poked the ball out of play. Jesus Navas celebrates after his goal put Sevilla in the ascendancy during their clash with Barcelona Navas opened the scoring for Sevilla in the 22nd minute of the La Liga clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Navas showed impressive composure as he managed to steer the ball into the back of the net MATCH FACTS AND LEAGUE TABLE Sevilla: Vaclik; Mercado (Vazquez 51), Kjaer, Gomez; Navas, Banega, Rog (Roque Mesa 62), Sarabia, Wober (Amadou 58); Ben Yedder, Promes Subs not used: Soriano, Andre Silva, Guilherme Arana, Munir Goals: Navas 22, Mercado 42 Booked: Rog, Wober, Vazquez, Kjaer, Sarabia Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo (Roberto 46), Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Vidal (Dembele 46), Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho (Alena 79) Subs not used: Pena, Malcom, Lenglet, Murillo Goal: Messi 26, 67, 85 Booked: Pique Injuries had forced Sevilla to make three changes before the hour but still they were not conceding clear-cut chances. But Messi doesn’t need clear-cut chances. He just needs a pass to his feet when he takes up a position on the edge of the area. Dembele delivered the assist and he controlled and shot with his ‘weaker’ right foot past Vaclik for the 2-2. Again from the edge of the area, and this time with his left foot, Messi nearly scored Barcelona’s third but this time Vaclik tipped the shot over. It didn’t take long for him to go one better. Suarez’s shot was saved on 67 minutes and Messi was on the spot to gently lift the ball over the diving Vaclik to win the game for Barcelona and take them a giant step closer to winning the league. This was one of those fixtures their rivals hoped they would lose. Without Messi’s hat-trick they may well have, instead they are 10 points clear. Messi even had time to tee-up Suraez for 4-1 with his last kick sending the Uruguayan clear to lob Vaclik. Messi attempts to push forwards for Barcelona while under pressure from Sevilla's Sergi Gomez Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho attempts to push forwards as Simon Kjaer looks to win the ball for Sevilla Barcelona's Luis Suarez, who has been the subject of a considerable amount of criticism recently, battles with Kjaer Suarez shows his frustration after he missed an opportunity to score during Barcelona's clash with Sevilla Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal was substituted at half time as Barcelona looked to get back into the game Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility