Barcelona have set a new Spanish football record of 35 games unbeaten in all competitions. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as they thrashed nine-man Rayo Vallecano 5-1 win in La Liga on Thursday night. In other games, Real Betis registered a 3-0 win at Espanyol and Granada beat Sporting Gijon 2-0. Barca now lead Atletico Madrid by eight points at the top of the league standings, while Real Madrid are a further four points behind in third with 11 matches remaining.

Teichmann topples world No. 10 Muchova; Swiatek cruises into 4th round
Pant steps down as Lucknow captain after poor IPL season
Messi leads Argentina squad for sixth World Cup
Volpato makes late switch from Italy to Australia ahead of World Cup
Four-times Stanley Cup winner Claude Lemieux dies at 60