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Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi has set a new goalscoring record in La Liga thanks to his brilliant hat-trick at home to Sevilla on Saturday. The Argentine struck with a fantastic free-kick in the 22nd minute of the game at Camp Nou to reach 251 goals in the Primera Division, thus matching the mark set by former Athletic Bilbao hero Telmo Zarra in 1955, and added two more in the second half to set a new record of 252 top-flight strikes. The Basque forward's 251 goals came in 277 games, while Messi's 253 have arrived in 289 matches for Barca. Zarra, who also netted 20 in 20 appearances for Spain, was 35 by the time he made it to 251. Messi, who is still just 27, was launched into the air by his jubilant team-mates on Saturday following his second strike and completed his hat-trick with a superb strike to make it 253 after that. The Argentine is already Barca's all-time top goalscorer and now has 368 strikes in all competitions for the Catalan club.