Messi's Hat Trick (Seeking Collection, Seeking Recommendation)

In the fifteenth minute, Messi's dribble after receiving the ball left his marker, the full-back Capa, helpless; forced to intervene, Capa reached out and pulled him down. The referee didn't hesitate for a second, running straight over to brandish a Yellow Card at Capa.

Only fifteen minutes into the match, and their starting full-back had already picked up a Yellow Card. For a defensive line already teetering on the brink, this was salt in the wound.

On the football pitch, there is no room for mercy.

Once Capa was cautioned with the yellow card, Messi activated his attacking mode.

He began to relentlessly assault the opposition's defensive line. With a yellow card hanging over his head, Capa's aggression began to wane.

This resulted in the defense on that flank losing its balance entirely.

On the sidelines, Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelino frowned deeply, watching his backline teetering on the edge of collapse, as if the next attack would surely result in a Barca goal.

Marcelino turned his head and said, "De Marcos, get ready to warm up, you'll be replacing..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Marcelino heard a series of panicked roars from the fans in the stands.

Marcelino felt his heart tighten and quickly turned back to look, just in time to see chaos erupting inside his own penalty area, with a Barcelona player vaguely visible lying on the ground.

Marcelino charged straight toward the fourth official, not even knowing what had happened, and shouted loudly, "Dive! That's a dive, it must be a dive!"

The fourth official gestured for him to calm down, saying, "Mr. Marcelino, whether it is a dive or not is for the referee to decide. Please calm down and return to your technical area."

While shouting, Marcelino glanced toward his own goal.

The referee's whistle had already blown, and the ball had gone out over the byline.

But was it actually a foul?

The referee hadn't been in the best position, and the penalty area was packed with bodies.

However, feedback from his earpiece indicated that the linesman hadn't seen it clearly either.

Due to the intense arguments from both sides, the referee had no choice but to signal for a VAR review.

The referee jogged over to the pitch-side monitor, put on his headset, and began to watch the replay.

Dembele had received the ball on the left flank, executed a beautiful nutmeg to bypass the opposing full-back, and then fired a low cross that zipped directly between the defenders and the goalkeeper.

The center-back's foot failed to make contact with the ball, and the goalkeeper, rooted to his line, watched as the ball swept past him.

However, the full-back at the far post, Capa, had been pinned behind Messi. During the run, Capa's foot had intentionally or unintentionally stepped on Messi's heel, sending him crashing to the ground inside the box.

The ball had also slid just past the post.

The referee watched the replay twice, confirming everything.

The referee made his signal, pointing directly to the penalty spot.

The Barcelona players punched the air in excitement.

Not only that, but the referee also ran up to the full-back Capa, pulled two cards from his pocket—first a Yellow Card, then swapped it for a Red Gem Promotion Card—and sent Capa straight to the locker room.

Athletic Bilbao exploded in protest.

Fifteen minutes in, their starting right-back sent off, plus a penalty—if this went in, a 2-0 scoreline, how were they supposed to play?

But the referee remained unmoved, gesturing for the Athletic Bilbao players to calm down and leave the area immediately.

Seeing the referee reach for his Yellow Card again, the Athletic Bilbao players could only grumble as they retreated.

Messi wore a look of grim satisfaction.

An eye for an eye.

Although the previous red card wasn't caused by Capa, this grudge was directed at the entirety of Athletic Bilbao.

Messi stood before the penalty spot, placed the ball, took a few steps back, and stared coldly at the opposing goalkeeper.

Athletic Bilbao's goalkeeper, Simon, began performing all sorts of flashy antics on the goal line, hoping to distract Messi.

But how could a veteran like Messi be fooled by such amateur tactics?

The whistle blew, and Messi charged toward the ball with firm, rapid strides. With a flick of his left ankle, goalkeeper Simon committed to a direction and dove.

But he regretted it mid-air; Messi had chipped a Panenka.

As Simon landed, the ball traced a beautiful arc and dropped into the net.

Only a powerful mentality could allow Messi to strike such a cool-headed Panenka in a moment of such intense, vengeful excitement.

On the sidelines, Li Mingyu cheered loudly in excitement.

Li Mingyu couldn't help but admire this composure when taking a penalty.

Penalties were a major nightmare for Li Mingyu, and he didn't know when he would finally overcome that fear.

The ball was kicked off from the center circle once more.

Athletic Bilbao had been left dizzy by the successive heavy blows right from the start.

Their defense was already precarious, and now, down a man, they were stretched even thinner.

Messi was completely liberated; he roamed freely in the final third, tearing the opposition's defensive line to shreds.

In the thirtieth minute, Barcelona's attacking trident once again produced a piece of exquisite interplay.

Griezmann, having drifted into the attacking midfield position, played a through ball to the feet of Dembele, who had shaken off his marker.

Dembele unleashed a series of stepovers that sent the opposing center-back crashing onto his backside. Facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, Dembele didn't hunt for personal glory, instead delivering a cutback pass to the rapidly advancing Messi.

Messi did not let Dembele's kindness go to waste, slotting the ball home with a clean strike to pierce the opponent's net.

Having completed the goal, Messi immediately leaped onto Dembele's back.

Carrying Messi, Dembele marched straight toward the visiting supporters' section, looking every bit like a king on a royal inspection.

This was the home turf of Athletic Bilbao, and fewer than a thousand Barca fans were in attendance, but those fans were in heaven.

Watching the King of Barca, Messi, complete a hat-trick in just thirty minutes, those thousand Barcelona fans one after another began to bow in worship.

Everyone knew what this match meant for Messi, which was why even the unruly Dembele, when presented with such a golden opportunity against the keeper, chose to pass the ball back to Messi, all to ensure Messi could have a truly exhilarating performance.

Messi was well aware of this, and he was deeply moved by everyone's willingness to help him achieve this feat.