Lionel Messi Sealed Latest Hat-Trick 2 Seconds Earlier Than Cristiano Ronaldo

Much has been made about the mind-boggling stats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to put up on a weekly basis. 

Ever since Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009, their records in La Liga have been almost identical. 

Now, it looks like they are matching each other on a game-by-game basis.

Both players scored hat-tricks at the weekend. First, Ronaldo scored all the goals in Real's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo on Saturday. Then, Messi netted three against Espanyol in a 5-1 victory the following day. 

Not only did they match each other's scores, but they also seemed to complete their hat-tricks at the very same time, as the meme at the top of the page suggests. 

Well, not quite. We looked at the data from the two matches from the BBC, and it appears Messi actually completed his hat-trick a mere two seconds before Ronaldo. 

That seems to match up with the image above, with the ball in the Messi picture just slightly closer to the goal than the ball in the Ronaldo picture. 

Of course, none of this matters. The two players are playing at an exceptional level and should be enjoyed equally, but it does go to show just how closely matched they are.