Barca wins Spanish Super Cup

Barcelona lifted the Spanish Super Cup on Saturday after a Lionel Messi hat-trick inspired them to a 4-0 win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp.

The class of the Catalans rendered Sevilla's 3-1 first leg win irrelevant as they got hold of the game from the outset.

Barca took the lead after 14 minutes when Sevilla defender Abdoulay Konko cruelly deflected Pedro's cut back into his own net.

The relentless pressure of the home side continued, with Xavi orchestrating their attacking thrusts from the midfield. After 25 minutes he found Messi with a long-range pass, and the Argentine calmly slotted the ball home past Andres Palop to double the lead.

With the game level on aggregate, Barcelona turned on the style to score a classy third goal in the 44th minute. Dani Alves worked a one-two before cutting into the box and crossing low to Messi who rifled a shot into the roof of the net.

Sevilla pushed hard for an away-goal in the final 15 minutes and the introduction of Luis Fabiano helped them gain a foothold in midfield, but that left them vulnerable on the counter and allowed Messi to complete his hat-trick on 89 minutes.