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Lionel Messi surpassed the 50-goal mark in 2016-17 with a brace as Barcelona thumped Villarreal 4-1 in La Liga at Camp Nou on Saturday.

⚡ Lionel Messi ⚡

He’s the first in Europe’s top five leagues to reach 5️⃣0️⃣! pic.twitter.com/hjW0jitsFU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 6, 2017

‘MSN’ partners Neymar and Luis Suarez were also on target as Barcelona opened a three-point lead in the table. Cedric Bakambu responded for the visitors.

M: ✔️
S: ✔️
N: ✔️ pic.twitter.com/RgJnWePK2M

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 6, 2017

Rivals Real Madrid, who briefly have two games in hand, have the chance to move level with victory over Granada in the late kick-off.