Messi's Clasico Hat-Trick and the Greatest World Football Moments of the Weekend

So many storylines evolved from Real Madrid's epic battle with Barcelona on Sunday evening that it's hard to pick out a headline.

Aside from the fights, red cards, controversial officiating and post-match barbs, Leo Messi piqued our attention by scoring a hat-trick, albeit with the help of two penalties. According to Inside Spanish Football, the Argentinean is the first Barcelona player ever to find the net three times at the Bernabeu.   

In England, meanwhile, the Premier League treated us to a thrilling weekend, delivering a total of 42 goals. That's the second highest tally in the league's history, as per @TheFootballBar.

And in Germany, Bayern Munich had the opportunity to win the Bundesliga title in record time, but they were thwarted by their adversaries in yellow and black.

Here are the greatest moments of a great weekend...

Chelsea Knocked Arsenal for 6 at the Bridge

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Arsenal's trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday was meant to be a happy occasion for manager Arsene Wenger, who was overseeing his 1,000th game in charge of the North Londoners.

However, it took less than 20 minutes for it to turn into one of the worst days in his career.

Within 10 minutes, Samuel Eto'o and Andre Schurrle found the net, thanks to carelessness from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla, respectively.

In the 18th minute, referee Andre Marriner embarrassed himself for dismissing Kieran Gibbs for an Oxlade-Chamberlain handball, with Eden Hazard converting the subsequent penalty. Marriner's daft mistake was only bettered by the Ox, who appeared to save a ball that was heading wide of the goal. 

Oscar then added a brace and Mohamed Salah hammered a final nail into the coffin of the Gunners' title chances in the 71st minute. 

The Guardian's Daniel Taylor notes that Wenger took responsibility for the feckless performance, which troubled the Frenchman so much that he declined to attend the post-match press conference for the first time in 17.5 years. 

Wenger has now failed to beat Mourinho in 11 attempts. "The Special One" may still deny that his side are in the title race, but they still remain in the driving seat, four points clear of Liverpool at the top of the tree.

Yaya Toure Was a Hat-Trick Hero

Jon Super/Associated Press

Fulham stayed rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after suffering a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City at Eastlands on Saturday.

The star of the show was Yaya Toure, who scored Manchester City's first league hat-trick in nearly a year. The Ivorian converted penalties in both halves before adding a brilliant third from 25 yards. Toure, who has now scored 20 this season, left the field to a standing ovation from the home fans.

According to the BBC, City had 22 shots on goal while Fulham only had 12, none of which were on target. 

Manuel Pellegrini's side know that they are guaranteed to win the league if they claim maximum points from their 10 remaining games, including Tuesday's Manchester derby.

Luis Suarez Cannot Stop Scoring

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

Luis Suarez gave three extra reasons for being named Premier League Player of the Year, as he bagged a hat-trick in Liverpool's roller-coaster 6-3 win over Cardiff.

Cardiff took the lead twice in an end-to-end first half, but it was the title-chasing team from Merseyside who showed their prowess in front of goal, bringing their total goal tally for the season to 82—an average of 2.7 per game. 

Suarez, meanwhile, now has 28 league goals this season. This would have been enough to win the Premier League Golden Boot in four of the last six seasons. 

Liverpool's pursuit of the title remains thoroughly intact, but don't tell Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as he really isn't interested in hearing about it.

Wayne Rooney Pulled a David Beckham at Upton Park

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Manchester United's tremendous 100 percent winning record in the five days continued at the Boleyn on Saturday, as a Wayne Rooney brace ensured the Red Devils stayed within reach of the Europa League-chasing pack. 

The most notable moment of the afternoon occurred in the eighth minute when Rooney spotted Hammers goalkeeper Adrian off his line and lobbed him from around 50 yards. David Beckham—who performed a very similar feat against Wimbledon on the opening day of the 1996-97 season—watched from the stands with his family. 

David Moyes was in unusually high spirits after the match, joking that Rooney is always attempting that kind of goal in training without success.

Alexander Tettey Gave the Canaries Something to Chirp About

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Norwich kept Sunderland in 18th place in the Premiership with a 2-0 win at Carrow Road, which relieved some of the pressure on Canaries boss Chris Hughton.

Not only were Norwich fans satiated by a dominant performance, but they were also treated to a stunning goal by Alexander Tettey. The ball fell to the Ghanian midfielder on the edge of the box in the 33rd minute, and he rifled an unstoppable volley past Vito Mannone. 

It was Tettey's first goal for the club in 43 appearances, and he was modest enough to admit that Wayne Rooney's long-range goal on the same day was a better goal, as reported by Neal McLeman in The Mirror. But as a United fan, he probably would say that.

Gylfi Sigurdsson Saved the Day at White Hart Lane

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Tottenham pulled victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Southampton, thanks to a dramatic injury-time winner from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Kyle Naughton had a forgettable afternoon, as the right-back was clearly at fault for goal from Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana that put the visitors 2-0 up. Despite his howlers, manager Tim Sherwood singled him out for praise after the match. 

A Christian Eriksen brace inspired a second-half comeback, and in the 93rd minute, he set up Sigurdsson for one of his trademark long-range strikes to deny the Saints any points.  

Watch the Icelandic star's goal here, but don't ask Kevin Phillips to say his name.

El Clasico Gave Us Everything We Could Have Asked for

The 225th competitive match between Real Madrid and Barcelona proved to be one of the most entertaining Clasico matches in years. Barcelona emerged 4-3 winners in an eventful game at the Bernabeu, with Leo Messi bringing his La Liga goal tally to 21 for the season with a hat-trick.

The Catalan visitors took the lead through an unstoppable Andres Iniesta shot in the seventh minute, but a resplendent Karim Benzema put Los Blancos in front with two goals in four minutes midway through the first half.

Leo Messi equalised before the break, but his Ballon d'Or nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid 3-2 ahead from the penalty spot in the second half. The Portuguese star earned the penalty after going down from minimal contact from Dani Alves, despite the fact that the incident appeared to be outside the area. 

Barca were awarded a controversial spot kick of their own 10 minutes later, as Sergio Ramos brought down Neymar with the lightest of touches and received a red card for his troubles. It was the 13th dismissal of the last 14 Clasicos and the 19th of Ramos' career.

The winning goal came from another Messi penalty in the 83rd minute, which was awarded after Iniesta was sandwiched by Daniel Carvajal and Xabi Alonso. 

The result meant Atletico Madrid went back to the top of La Liga thanks to their head-to-head record over their city neighbours, while Barcelona are now just one point behind them both.

Robert Lewandowski Scored a Brilliant Solo Golazo

Borussia Dortmund remained in second place in the Bundesliga with a convincing 3-0 win over struggling Hannover. 

The best moment of the match was a piece of individual genius from Robert Lewandowski.

In the 52nd minute, the Pole ran 65 yards, picked up the ball on the edge of the area and defied the advances of five defenders to slot home. 

Clearly, Jurgen Klopp was pretty happy about the situation.

Bayern Didn't Win the League

Bayern Munich headed to Mainz on Saturday, knowing that a victory and a Borussia Dortmund defeat would hand them the Bundesliga title after only 26 matches.

The Bavarians did their part—even if they waited until the last seven minutes for Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze to score. But thanks to BvB's aforementioned victory over Hannover, Bayern may have to wait a few more days to get their hands on the shield for the 24th time.

The game marks 18th consecutive league win and their 51st game undefeated against German opposition.

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