Barca thrash Sevilla to land Spanish Super Cup

BARCELONA (AFP) – Inspired by a Leo Messi hattrick, Barcelona landed the Spanish Super Cup on Saturday in thrashing Sevilla 4-0 to win the battle between Ligta and Spanish King’s Cup winners 5-3 on aggregate.

The Catalan club dominated the encounter at the Nou Camp once Abdoulay Konko had put through his own net on 13 minutes in attempting to clear a Pedro cross.

Messi then took over as he netted on 24, 43 and 90 minutes – Xavi setting up the first with some astute dribbling – to clinch the win and erase the memory of a poor first-leg showing.

Argentine star Messi’s finishing masterclass left new signing from Valencia and Spanish World Cup-winning striker David Villa somewhat in the shade – though he did help to create the fourth goal in the final seconds as Barca received an ovation from the 67,000 crowd.