Messi bags double as Barca thump Atletico

LEADERS Barcelona struck a potentially decisive blow in the La Liga title race when Lionel Messi scored twice in a 4-1 win at home to second-placed Atletico Madrid to move nine points clear at the top last night.

The victory moved Barca 13 points ahead of ailing champions Real Madrid, who were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw at home by lowly Espanyol.

Tito Vilanova’s unbeaten leaders fought back after Radamel Falcao gave Atletico a deserved lead.

A magnificent strike from Adriano levelled the scores, and Sergio Busquets and a second-half brace from Messi completed the scoring.

Espanyol stunned Real Madrid with a late equaliser in their 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu yesterday.

In Italy, Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A with a comfortable 3-0 victory over 10-man Atalanta.

Mirko Vucinic put Juve in front in the second minute with Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio adding further goals within the first 30 minutes.

AC Milan beat Pescara 4-1, while Luca Toni scored twice as Fiorentina beat bottom club Siena by the same score.