Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas scored their first goals for ManchesterCity who avenged last season's shock FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic with a 5-0 victory in the League Cup third round on Tuesday.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Arsenal ended their away hoodoo against Premier League title challengers with a 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Sunday that left Chelsea five points clear at the top.
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the English Premier League and the La Liga on Monday.
England striker Daniel Sturridge celebrated his return after a five-month injury layoff when he came off the bench to score as Liverpool beat West Ham United 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Bengaluru now have two draws in a row and their first clean sheet but languish at second-last with just six points.
Goals from Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge eased Liverpool through a tricky FA Cup fourth round tie at Championship (second division) Bournemouth on Saturday although they had to work hard for a 2-0 victory.
Manchester City continued their imperious start to the season with a 2-1 win over Swansea City to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday but it was a testing night for rivals United who eventually overcame Northampton Town 3-1.
Costa turned Juanfran's low cross into the net in the 69th minute for Atletico's third goal in the first leg of the last 16 tie against third division Lleida but immediately limped to the sidelines. He did return to the pitch, however, and completed the game despite bleeding from his knee.
Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season's Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.
A goal by Sergio Aguero gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory against neighbours Manchester United, who played with 10 men for more than 50 minutes on Sunday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Arsenal's victory was scrappy and nervy but Laurent Koscielny's 72nd-minute winner was enough to move them two points clear at the summit after LeicesterCity's surprise push faltered with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.
The dazzling Lionel Messi returned from illness to score yet another double to help Barcelona ease into the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 13th successive year with their 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday.
A summary of Saturday night's matches in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Manchester City squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.
Veteran Drogba showed that he still has a lot of steam in him as he scored in Chelsea's win over Spurs, while Aguero continued to top the goal-scorers' list this season, finding the net for City. Images from the EPL matches played across England on Wednesday.
It was a wonder that Louis van Gaal's face did not turn as scarlet as his team's shirts.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
Chelsea came from behind to secure a 3-1 win at Manchester City and forge further clear at the top of the Premier League as a dramatic top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl and two City players being sent off on Saturday.
A summary of the Euro 2020 qualification matches played on Friday.
Arsenal beat Fulham 2-0 at the Emirates and Manchester City beat Cardiff City 4-2 at the Etihad before Liverpool could only manage a 2-2 draw at Anfield having trailed 2-0.
A summary of Friday's night's qualifying matches for Euro 2020.
Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo faces an emotional reunion with boyhood club Sporting Lisbon when his side begin the defence of their Champions League crown on Wednesday. Ronaldo, who scored the decisive penalty in the shootout win over Atletico Madrid in last season's final, returned to club football following an injury layoff when he scored in the 5-2 thrashing of Osasuna on Saturday.
Ten-man Manchester City staged a dramatic comeback with late goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling securing them a 3-2 win at Schalke 04 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Spain's Alvaro Morata scored a goal in each half as they beat a highly defensive Malta side 2-0 away on Tuesday to move top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group with two wins out of two games.
Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe starred in PSG's win as they topped group A after thrashing Galatasaray 5-0. Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, pumped in two goals to oust Leverkusen from the tournament, while Gabriel Jesus netted a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Images from the Champions League football matches played on Wednesday night.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Paris St Germain reached the Champions League semi-finals despite a 1-0 home defeat by holders Bayern Munich as they progressed on away goals
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
A round-up of Wednesday's league stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Coach Pep Guardiola was left thrilled after ManchesterCity revived their Champions League bid by beating his old club Barcelona 3-1 in a gloriously open Group C encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.
