Atwo-month layoff with a knee injury has not been enough to contain the irrepressible Leo Messi and to prevent him from joining the race to be crowned La Liga's top scorer of the season.
The Argentine, who has got back to his dazzling best in 2016, hit a hat-trick against Rayo to reach 19 league goals for the campaign. He is still six behind teammate Luis Suárez, who currently leads the way on 25 goals, but there is time enough for Messi to put up quite a fight in the remaining 11 rounds of La Liga action.
Cristiano Ronaldo currently lies second on 23 goals, four ahead of Messi, while Benzema is tied with the Argentine on 19 and Neymar is one further back on 18.
Individual stats and accolades have not been Messi's priority for some time, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't enjoy finishing the campaign at the top of the scoring charts, and he has the ability to make up the ground to do just that in the run-in.
Source: transfermarketweb.com