But for third-placed Spurs, who trail leaders Manchester City and Liverpool by five points, this may prove to be a loss that leaves them with too much ground to make up.
The 22-year-old left winger has been the outstanding Spanish player in the Primera Liga this season.
Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain and evergreen AS Roma forward Francesco Totti lit up Serie A on Monday as the two teams won in contrasting fashion to boost their bids for an automatic Champions League spot.
Chelsea's new signing Gonzalo Higuain netted his first two Premier League goals in Chelsea's 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield Town while Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min struck late for a 1-0 win over Newcastle United as they moved into second place.
Didier Deschamps said his team's startling success was brought about by forcing the Spanish favourites out of their comfortable stride.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An unbeaten 96 by Pravanjan Mallick helped Orissa post 217 for four on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Plate division semi-final against Madhya Pradesh.
Skipper Raul scored from the penalty spot 12 minutes into the second half as Spain escaped with a 1-1 draw.
Bayern Munich booked their fifth successive Champions League semi-final spot with a 2-2 draw at Benfica on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory that kept the Germans on course for a treble of titles.
Reigning champions Real Madrid took advantage of Valencia's defeat against Deportivo to move up to second.
Arsenal slumped to a last-gasp 2-1 Premier League defeat at relegation-threatened Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday in a blow to the London club's chances of securing European football next season. Watford's Craig Dawson grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser with an overhead kick to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Saturday and a vital point in their battle for Premier League survival.
Former Brazil forward Ronaldo said on Wednesday he will try to get back into shape with an eye on coming out of retirement to play for North American second division club Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
Real Madrid scored a 2-1 victory over the Thai national team in their last match of their Asian tour.
Unai Emery's side were heading for a demoralising defeat, three days after losing meekly to Sheffield United in the Premier League, but substitute Pepe's late intervention kept the Gunners top of Group F with a maximum nine points.
Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 on Wednesday in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg victory.
The United States has not ruled out a visit to the White House by Cuban President Raul Castro, arguing that President Barack Obama has visited countries like China and Myanmar and invited their leaders to America, despite having serious human rights concerns about them.
Boca Juniors edged out AC Milan 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out following an absorbing 1-1 draw after extra time to win the World Club Cup.
Orissa declared their innings at 466 for eight, taking a first innings lead of 231 runs, and then reduced Goa to 41 for one in their second knock.
A maiden unbeaten knock of 119 by opener Swapnil Asnodkar helped Goa to a position of strength.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
India's shuttlers continued their good run at the Canada Open. Six singles players, including Ajay Jayaram and H S Prannoy, qualified for the quarter-finals in the US $55,000 Grand Prix badminton tournament, in Calgary.
Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third with a 3-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea hung on to fourth spot, above Arsenal on goal difference, despite a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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.
European champions Real Madrid beat Olimpia of Paraguay 2-0 and emphatically brought to an end to a poor run of results.\n\n\n\n
A first half Tiago header set up Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory over Espanyol as they seek to get back on track following a stuttering start to the La Liga season.
Mexico and Bolivia were booed off the pitch after playing out a drab goalless draw in their opening match of the Copa America on Friday, leaving hosts Chile top of Group A after the first round of matches.
Real Madrid's teenage Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes sent them top of La Liga as both scored in a 2-0 win over Osasuna on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to renew his contract and said he wanted to see out his career in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo's immediate future at Real has been in doubt all season, with speculation growing throughout the year that he was plotting a move to Paris Saint-Germain but the prolific Portuguese has now made it clear he wants to stay at the club. "Real Madrid would be making a smart decision if they offered me a new contract," Ronaldo told Spanish television programme La Sexta on Wednesday. "I want to stay here, there have been good moments and bad moments. Four years ago I wasn't happy here but now I am and I can't think of a better club to be at than Real Madrid, there's no team like it. The other clubs can forget it." Ronaldo overtook Raul Gonzalez as Real's all-time top scorer earlier this season and on Saturday will be hoping to inspire the team to their 11th European Cup success when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan.
Vicente del Bosque said his side still has a lot of hard work to do to make the Champions League quarter-finals.
Reigning champions Manchester City took the lead after 24 seconds but suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.
We present some of the best photographs clicked across the globe in the month of May.
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