Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/lionel-messi-gives-up-hat-trick-chance-as-barcelona-defeat-getafe-in-pictures-1.1209254">defeated Getafe 5-2 on Thursday</a> to stay in the hunt for the La Liga title. Messi gave Barca an early lead but Getafe pulled level with an own goal by Clement Lenglet. The visitors then conceded a calamitous own goal when Sofian Chakla's backpass deceived keeper David Soria. Messi extended Barca's lead before halftime to move on to 25 La Liga goals for the 12th season in a row. But the Catalans slowed down in the second half as Enes Unal converted a penalty in the 69th minute following a VAR review for a foul by Ronald Araujo. Getafe had a couple of half-chances to level but Uruguayan defender Araujo made amends for his foul on Unal by heading in Messi's corner in the 87th minute to effectively kill the game. Barca earned a penalty in added time but Messi surrendered the chance to score a hat-trick and handed the ball to Antoine Griezmann who slammed in the spot-kick. The win took Barca back up to third place on 68 points, five behind leaders Atletico Madrid but with a game in hand. Player ratings for Barcelona can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.