Perfect six for Messi as Barca rout Atletico

MADRID (AFP) - Argentine sensation Lionel Messi scored for the sixth game in succession as Barcelona overpowered Atletico Madrid 3-0 on Sunday to stay in touch with leaders Real Madrid.

AC Milan's Brazilian Kaka may have won the FIFPro award for Player of the Year, where votes are cast by his fellow professionals, but Barcelona believe Messi is the best player on the planet and on current form it is hard to disagree.

The 20-year-old Argentine was sensational at Camp Nou scoring his sixth league goal to stay at the top of the goalscoring charts.

It was Barcelona's fourth straight league win but they still trail Real Madrid by two points after the champions defeated Recreativo Huleva 2-0.

Dutch international Ruud van Nistelrooy, the league's top-scorer last season, scored on 72 minutes before Gonzalo Higuain netted in the final minute to keep Real at the summit.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard drafted Ronaldinho back into the starting line-up with the Brazilian, who had missed the last three league matches with a calf injury, starting alongside Thierry Henry and Messi in attack.

Barcelona had thumped Atletico 6-0 on their own ground towards the latter end of last season so the visitors were out for revenge but their quest was not helped when they conceded twice inside four minutes.

On the quarter hour mark Italian goalkeeper Christian Abbiati let a routine Messi cross slip out of his hands and Deco could not believe his eyes as he rolled home into the empty net.

Four minutes later Messi played a great one-two with Ronaldinho and rifled a shot past Abbiati for his sixth goal of the season and Xavi added a third late on.

Atletico had won their last three matches but Barcelona were streets ahead and Atletico's promising Argentine striker Kun Aguero, 19, was overshadowed by compatriot Messi - as everyone was.

Barcelona are playing scintillating football at the moment and that has turned the spotlight on Real coach Bernd Schuster who promised freeflowing football but is grinding out workmanlike results reminiscent of his predecessor Fabio Capello.

Real have made their best start since 1991 but Schuster's rotation policy has been questioned with the German chopping and changing his team.

Schuster admitted his team had been lucky at times this season saying somewhat tongue-in-cheek that because the Pope is German God is on his team's side.

Luck deserted them when Wesley Sneijder hit the post but van Nistelrooy scored in the final quarter hour before Higuain struck to keep them two points clear at the top.

Elsewhere Villarreal, now four points behind Real, lost for only the second time in 15 matches with a 3-2 reverse against Osasuna.

Sevilla, third last season, are in a crisis after losing their fourth league game in a row with a goal from Riki handing Deportivo La Coruna a surprise 1-0 win.

Sevilla have just six points from their first six matches and are 13 points behind pacesetters Real.