Lionel Messi celebrated his second straight Ballon d'Or award by scoring a hat trick Wednesday in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Real Betis in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, the Spanish champions' 27th match unbeaten to equal a club record.
Barcelona broke through against a composed Betis side in the 44th minute, Iniesta playing Messi through in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Casto Espinosa, who was caught off his line and beaten by a lifted shot.
Espinosa and Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto stood out in the first half with a number of important stops, but the Betis 'keeper could do little in the 64th. After making a reaction save to deny Messi, the rebound fell for the forward to slide the ball under him into the goal.
Messi completed his hat trick in the 73rd, beating the offside trap to reach Xavi's pass before shooting past Espinosa for his 31st goal of the season in all competitions.
Espinosa was helpless in the 76th despite making a save from Daniel Alves, who tapped the loose ball back for Pedro Rodriguez to send into the top of the net for his 15th goal of the season.
Second-division leader Betis' strong first-half performance -- Ruben Castro forced Pinto into a diving save before hitting the crossbar -- was a distant memory when substitute Seydou Keita jumped high to head home in the 83rd.
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