La Liga: Henry hat-trick crushes sorry Levante
MADRID, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Barcelona ran riot against Levante with Thierry Henry scoring three times from his first four shots. Henry rounded off his hat-trick in trademark style, firing in from eight yards after a clever disguise pass from Deco.
Lionel Messi added the fourth almost immediately, skipping outside the combative defender Bruno before angling home his shot. With one eye on the coming midweek Champions League fixture against Stuttgart, Frank Rijkaard took Messi off after fifty mintues.
Christian Rigano spurned Levante's best chance when he wastefully missed from close range before Emilio Viguiera hit a consolation goal for the home side from the penalty spot. Barca now lead Real Madrid at the top of the table by one point.
Real Zaragoza condemned Sevilla to their fourth consecutive defeat after winning 2-0 in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
Argentine midfielder Andres D'Alessandro opened the scoring for the hosts with a free kick early in the second half and, as Sevilla pressed forward, striker Sergio Garcia caught them on the break at the end.
The UEFA Cup holders, who missed enough chances to claim all three points, were beaten by Arsenal in the Champions League last week and have since lost three Primera Liga matches.
It is the first time since 1999-2000, when the side were relegated, the Andalucians have last four on the trot.
Zaragoza climbed to eighth with eight points from six games while Sevilla slipped to 11th with six points from five.
Real Madrid travel to struggling Getafe on Sunday.