Madrid - Lionel Messi is again all the talk in Spain after his hat-trick and brilliant form against Atletico Madrid received unanimous praise from country's media. Messi dazzled as Barcelona beat Atletico 3-1 away in the Spanish capital to move close to the quarter-finals of the King's Cup.
The Argentina striker left the pitch at the Vicente Calderon stadium on Tuesday to applause even from rival fans, who surrendered to the charm of an outstanding player in undoubtedly great form.
Messi himself was exultant following the ovation from Atletico Madrid supporters.
"It is something impossible to explain, very beautiful for any player," he admitted.
The striker delivered a well-rounded, top-quality performance over 80 minutes: he scored three goals, including one from the penalty spot after being himself fouled in the box, he hit the woodwork once and he drove the Atletico Madrid defence crazy, provoking the sending-off of Dutch centre-back John Heitinga.
"Messi, Messi, Messi!" said the Madrid sports daily Marca in a headline.
"Messi, king and magician," said the newspaper As.
Messi's show came on the day that Spanish children traditionally receive gifts from the Three Wise Men, which translates to Spanish as "the magician-kings."
Both Marca and As are published in Madrid, and the sports press in the capital seldom grant their front pages to a Barcelona player, as happened Wednesday.
Catalan newspapers also granted a place of honour to the regional idol, of course.
"Alien Messi," said Sport. "Alone, he disarmed an Atletico that fell into impotence, into dirty play. The proof of that is that its players saw seven yellow cards and one red card. Messi finally got on their nerves. (Diego) Maradona clapped with great enthusiasm from the box. Leo is a genius."
The daily Mundo Deportivo, in turn, proclaimed the start of "the Messi era" and noted that "the Argentine footballer is marking one of the most brilliant epochs of recent years."
Messi appears to have found a perfect partner on the right wing in Brazilian right-back Daniel Alves. Both constitute a knife that cuts through the side of any rival, and their partnership led to Barcelona's first two goals.
Messi is the flagship of a spectacular Barcelona, able to run over any team they may come across. They are the clear leaders in Spain's La Liga, with an advantage of 11 points over the second-placed Valencia. They are very close to the Cup quarter-finals, and they remain unbeaten in the Champions League.
The Argentinian is in the best possible form to tackle a season that could be historic. Barcelona seem determined to win everything, and Messi is their most visible weapon, a player that has charmed even his enemies.
