Lamine Yamal matches Lionel Messi’s rare La Liga record

Lamine Yamal has matched a landmark Lionel Messi achievement by scoring three braces in his first five La Liga matches of the season.

The Barcelona forward reached the milestone after scoring twice against Levante in a 4-2 victory, taking his tally to six goals in the opening five league games.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Yamal is only the second player in the 21st century to score three doubles in the first five rounds of a La Liga season. Messi set the previous benchmark during the 2012-13 campaign.

Yamal’s two-goal performances have come against Levante, Valencia and Rayo Vallecano. Messi scored his three braces against Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Getafe during the opening five matches of the 2012-13 season.

The achievement places Yamal ahead of a host of prolific forwards who have played in La Liga during the current century. Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, David Villa, Fernando Torres and Diego Forlan are among the notable strikers who failed to match Messi’s start, despite their goalscoring records and influence on the competition.

Yamal has now equalled a record that stood alone for years, adding another milestone to the impressive beginning of his campaign with Barcelona.

His form extends beyond the league statistic. The 7 goals and two assists he has registered in his first 6 competitive matches for Barcelona this season underline his importance to the team’s attack.

In La Liga, Yamal is joint top of the scoring charts with six goals. He shares that position with Barcelona team-mate Raphinha, Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Camello.

Yamal and Raphinha have also combined to provide a significant proportion of Barcelona’s early attacking output. Together, they have contributed to 12 of the 21 goals Barcelona have scored in their opening league matches.

That production has helped Barcelona move to the top of the La Liga table, with Yamal’s latest brace against Levante continuing a run that has already placed him alongside one of the competition’s most enduring records.