After Real had lost 3-1 away to neighbours Getafe in tonight's only other Spanish match, Barcelona were indebted first to Samuel Eto'o - who put them 1-0 up in the 20th minute with a smart finish after the ball broke fortunately for him.

Despite a Sevilla rally - and a near miss when Fredi Kanoute hit the bar late in the first half - the scoreline was unchanged until 12 minutes from time when Messi struck for the first time, with neat control and a left-footed shot.

The Argentinian forward made it three in the last minute - running on to Aleksander Hleb's pass and rounding goalkeeper Andres Palop to slot into the empty net - by which time Sevilla were down to 10 men, Luis Fabiano dismissed in the 86th for an elbow on Sergio Busquets.

Earlier, Juan Albin was the star of the show as Getafe upset Real to make it a miserable return to his former club for Bernd Schuster.

Albin struck twice at the start of each half and also set up substitute Ike Uche for Getafe's third as the small club from the outskirts of Madrid prevented their more illustrious neighbours from moving level with Barcelona - for an hour or so at least.

Javier Saviola pulled a goal back for Madrid, but the champions can have no complaints about the result - and the scoreline could even have been even more embarrassing for Schuster and Co.