Magical Messi sees Barcelona back on song, but Mourinho's Madrid remain ruthless in La Liga

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By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Editor

"I thought Messi," pondered Pep Guardiola after his side's 5-1 win at home to Valencia on Sunday, "was supposed to be in bad form ..." It was a comment tinged with irony: Guardiola had just seen his star man score four in a sensational showing which was right up there with his very best nights on a football field. And in the process, his fine forward had dispelled doubts over his fitness, an apparent dip in form and also his side's own patchy performances.

The Catalans have been stretched in terms of personnel in recent weeks and have looked tired at times following an accumulation of games this winter. Indeed, there had been talk before the game of Valencia catching Barca in second place. Win at Camp Nou and Unai Emery's men would close the gap between the two sides to just eight points. But at the end of the night the margin was 11; the gulf in class immense.

Messi destroyed the visitors almost single-handedly after his compatriot Pablo Piatti had given Los Che a shock lead. Barca's brilliant Argentine turned the game around with two in five minutes in the first half, beating an overworked Diego Alves from a tight angle for the first and at the second time of asking for the next, having come close moments earlier following a glorious 50-yard slalom run.

But there was more to come. His hat-trick arrived a quarter of an hour before the end as he dispatched a rebound after Cristian Tello's shot was blocked, and the 24-year-old saved the best for last as he clipped an exquisite effort over Alves for his fourth.

The last time Messi scored four, he was described by Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as a 'Playstation' player. And before facing the Gunners in the teams' Champions League quarter-final back in 2010, the Frenchman had been asked about the possibility of Barca boss Guardiola replacing him one day at the north London club. "Now," he replied, "is not the time to talk about that."

In the build-up to this game, however, Guardiola had once again been linked with the Arsenal job - and this time the speculation was more meaningful: Wenger is struggling and Pep is stalling on a new deal.

Messi's four goals and post-match plea for the coach's contract renewal to be signed soon may just sway the Barca coach to stay on at Camp Nou, but a fourth consecutive league title looks less likely now as Real Madrid maintain their march in February.

Jose Mourinho's men swept aside Racing Santander in another ruthless rampage at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night, cruising to victory thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo opener, a double from Karim Benzema and an Angel Di Maria stunner to extend their lead - albeit only temporarily - to 13 points at the top of the table.

There is seemingly no stopping Madrid. Mourinho has imprinted his indelible mark on the capital club: ruthless Real are now playing with a strut and a swagger - and with electrifying efficiency.

Still 10 points clear at the top and now with only 15 games remaining, Madrid have won an incredible 20 of their 23 top-flight matches in 2011-12. And it's hard to see how even Barca will catch them.

Like Guardiola, Mourinho himself has been linked with a move to London this summer, with reports claiming he is unhappy in Madrid. But the Portuguese has already planned the pre-season preparations at Real for the coming campaign and the club are hopeful he will remain in Spain for one more season at least.

Stay or go, however, the Portuguese looks likely to add La Liga to his growing collection of titles. And not even Messi can do much about that.

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