Lionel Messi hat-trick seals Barcelona's 25th La Liga title in style

A Coruña: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde was delighted that his side "finally" wrapped up a 25th La Liga title with four matches to spare, after a Lionel Messi hat-trick secured a thrilling 4-2 victory at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.

Valverde's men completed a league and cup double after thrashing Sevilla 5-0 in last week's Copa del Rey final, regaining the Spanish crown from Real Madrid and relegating Deportivo in the process.

"When you chase it for so long you say 'finally'," he told Spanish television.

"I feel very happy because in the end the league is very long, it starts in August... and when spring arrives everything is decided, we have passed everything.

"We've been pursuing it since the beginning, we have been in the lead, we've finished well, with a big margin... It's the first La Liga that I've won."

The only blip on the Catalans' season was the stunning Champions League quarter-final loss at Roma when they blew a 4-1 first-leg lead.

"The elimination (by Roma) marked us a little bit because it was unexpected, but out trajectory has been extraordinary," added Valverde.

"There is always a small 'but', but we'll try again next year."

Barca knew they just had to extend their record unbeaten streak to 41 La Liga matches to seal a seventh title in 10 seasons, and Philippe Coutinho fired them into an early lead.

Messi's 38th-minute volley made it two, but Lucas Perez pulled one back for Deportivo before half-time and Turkish winger Emre Colak stunned Barca with an equaliser midway through the second period.

Barca finally saw off their stubborn hosts, though, as Messi pounced after a brilliant one-two with Luis Suarez before slotting in to complete his 30th La Liga treble.

The Catalan giants now hold an unassailable 11-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who have just three games to play, and are closing in on becoming the first Spanish side to go through a top-flight season without tasting defeat.

"We have managed an almost perfect league campaign, without losing so far. I hope we can continue," midfielder Sergio Busquets said.

Andres Iniesta was surprisingly left on the bench after the midfield great announced earlier this week that he will leave the club at the end of the season.

But it was his expected long-term successor Coutinho who broke the deadlock in the seventh minute, bending an exquisite finish into the top corner for his third La Liga goal for the club since signing from Liverpool in January.

Deportivo had to win to stave off relegation for another week, but Clarence Seedorf's men were denied an equaliser when Perez was flagged offside after tapping in from close range.

Messi went close to doubling the advantage just before the half-hour mark, only for home goalkeeper Ruben to pull off an excellent one-handed save to turn his free-kick around the post.

Deportivo cause problems:

Deportivo were causing Barca plenty of problems at the back, though, and centre-back Fabian Schaer should have levelled as he headed over when unmarked inside the six-yard box.

But Messi drilled a curling Suarez cross past Ruben at the keeper's near post to score his 30th league goal of the campaign, before on-loan Arsenal striker Perez swept home to halve the deficit just two minutes later.

Despite the close scoreline, Barca were playing as if the second half was a pure title party, with centre-back Gerard Pique even performing a few 'keepie uppies' on the left wing.

Their complacency cost them in the 64th minute, as Celso Borges unselfishly squared for Colak to score.

Suddenly the champions-elect were desperately trying to hang onto their unbeaten record, as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a smart stop from another Schaer header.

But Barcelona showed their class as Suarez and Messi combined to terrific effect with eight minutes to play – the latter clipping the ball in off the post.

Suarez again sent the Argentinian racing clear three minutes later, and the 30-year-old made no mistake to complete a hat-trick.

The 33-year-old Iniesta came on to a standing ovation in the 87th minute as Barca closed out a successful title-winning campaign in style.

Barcelona have been far superior in La Liga, says Messi

Lionel Messi revelled in Barcelona's seventh La Liga title in 10 seasons, saying his team were "far superior" to their domestic rivals during their double-winning campaign.

 

The Argentinian star scored a brilliant 30th La Liga hat-trick as Barca survived a scare to beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-2, wrapping up the club's 25th league title with four matches to spare and keeping their hopes of an unbeaten season alive. "We have been far superior to our rivals, we haven't lost a match during the whole season," Messi told Barcelona's in-house television channel. "It's a very special Liga in that sense, because we haven't lost a single match. We've had some tough times and we've overcome everything without losing, which is unbelievable."

Regaining the top-flight crown from Real Madrid also secured Barcelona their third double in four years after thrashing Sevilla 5-0 in last weekend's Copa del Rey final. The only blemish on their season was a stunning Champions League quarter-final loss to Roma when they blew a 4-1 first-leg lead to be dumped out at the Stadio Olimpico.

 "We lost just one in the Cup and disappointingly another in the Champions League," added Messi, who leads the La Liga scoring charts with 32 goals this term. "That was an unexpected result in view of our shape. But we take a lot of merit to win a title as difficult as this without losing a game."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also paid tribute to captain Andres Iniesta. The 33-year-old midfielder came off the bench in the 87th minute at Deportivo to make his 670th Barcelona appearance just two days after announcing that he will leave the club at the end of the season. "It's a shame for us and the club, but he deserved to go like that," said Messi.

"We deplore what happened in the Champions League, it prevented him from going out with a treble, but he's leaving in an impressive fashion. "This double is more than deserved for Andres, for all he has given to this club. I am very happy for him and wish him all the best."