Leo Messi scores third-fastest ever hat-trick

Messi has scored eight free-kicks this season / MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
The FC Barcelona star scores three goals in 19 minutes for Argentina against Panama after only coming off the bench in the second half

Watching Leo Messi score a hat-trick is no longer a surprising sight, yet the manner in which he managed his latest three-goal haul was quite special, even for his sky-high standards.

After coming off the bench on 61 minutes with his country leading by just one goal, the Barca no.10 rolled up his socks and made up for lost time.

Five minutes after his introduction, he grabbed his first, before hitting two more 14 minutes later to give his side a big win.

The only two previous times that the Argentine star has scored a hat-trick quicker was against Mallorca (in 17 minutes) in 2011/12 and against Rayo Vallecano last campaign (in 12 minutes).

Messi’s ten-fastest hat-tricks

Of his 35 hat-tricks, ten of them have been scored in half an hour or less. Here is a look back at his ten-fastest ones:

Season

Team

Opponent

Stadium

Competition

Hat-trick time (minutes)

2014/15

Barça

Rayo Vallecano

Camp Nou

Liga

12

2011/12

Barça

Mallorca

Camp Nou

Liga

17

2015/16

Argentina

Panama

Soldier Field

Copa America

19

2009/10

Barça

Arsenal

Camp Nou

Champions League

21

2011/12

Barça

Bayer Leverkusen

Camp Nou

Champions League

24

2009/10

Barça

Valencia

Camp Nou

Liga

27

2014/15

Barça

Levante

Camp Nou

Liga

27

2010/11

Barça

Betis

Camp Nou

Copa del Rey

29

2011/12

Barça

Malaga

Camp Nou

Liga

29

2013/14

Barça

Valencia

Camp Nou

Liga

30

Messi strikes again with a free-kick

His second of his three against Panama was a delicate free-kick from all of 30 yards, demonstrating his set-piece threat once again. This past season was his best for Barça from dead balls, and his latest for his country is his eighth of the campaign. That takes his career total to 27 – 23 for Barça and 4 for Argentina