Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored for the 18th consecutive league game as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. The striker scored twice to take his tally to 55 for the season with 42 of those coming in the league.
(CNN) -- Records are there to be broken -- but how many more records can one man break?
Lionel Messi extended his goalscoring run in La Liga to 18 consecutive matches after scoring twice in Barcelona's 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano Sunday.
Messi, the four-time World Player of the Year, scored an unparalleled 91 goals for club and country in 2012, surpassing the previous record of 85 set by Germany's Gerd Muller in 1972.
The 25-year-old, who reportedly earns $14.75 million a year, looked an absolute bargain as he helped Barcelona restore its 13-point cushion at the top of the table.
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Messi has already scored 55 goals for Barcelona so far this season, 42 of those in La Liga with 13 in other competitions.
An incredible 29 goals have come in his past 18 league games -- a streak which has seen any suggestion of a slump consigned to the garbage.
Consecutive defeats to arch rival Real Madrid and the Champions League first leg defeat in Milan had left question marks over Barcelona's form.
But the 4-0 thrashing of Milan last week proved Barca means business and it could have had five or six against Rayo had it moved out of second gear.
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With coach Tito Vilanova expected to be back in the dug-out for the next game against Celta Vigo following cancer treatment, Barcelona looks in great shape to wrestle the league title back from Real Madrid.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Atletico Madrid kept up the pressure on second place Real with a 2-0 win at Osasuna courtesy of Diego Costa's double.
There was a shock defeat for Champions League quarterfinalist Malaga, which was beaten 2-0 at home by Espanyol, while Sevilla strolled to a 4-0 win over Real Zaragoza.
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Beckham was sent off during England's last-16 tie with Argentina after kicking out at Diego Simeone -- an incident which led to him being vilified following the team's exit on penalties.
But it was a less eventful evening for Beckham on this occasion, although he did come close to winning the tie late on with one of his trademark free kicks.
PSG had moved into a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier Pastore.
But the home side rallied and an own-goal from Alex halved the deficit before Francois Clerc grabbed an equalizer.
The result leaves PSG five points clear of nearest challenge Lyon at the top of Ligue 1.
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In the English Premier League, Chelsea moved into third place following a 2-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Frank Lampard's 200th goal for the club and an Eden Hazard effort sealed the points for Rafa Benitez's side.
Chelsea's win took it above Tottenham, which suffered an embarrassing 1-0 home defeat by Fulham.
Managed by former Spurs boss Martin Jol, it was another former employee who did the damage with Dimitar Berbatov scoring Fulham's winner.
Wigan kept its hope of survival alive with a late 2-1 win over Newcastle in a game which was marred by an awful tackle by Callum McManaman on visiting defender Massadio Haidara.
Haidara was taken off on a stretcher to hospital with suspected ligament damage, while McManaman escaped any disciplinary action from referee Mark Halsey.
"It is an awful challenge. The pictures speak for themselves," Newcastle manager Alan Pardew told reporters.
The death of Dutch amateur linesman Richard Nieuwenhuizen shocked a nation. Niewenhuizen was beaten to death following a youth match, with six teenagers and a father set to face trial over the killing. Nieuwenhuizen's death prompted a rule change in Dutch soccer, meaning that only team captains can speak with referees -- any other player who does so will be booked.
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Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the perfect start when he slammed home from close-range after Theo Walcott had got in behind the Bayern defense. Following a 3-1 defeat in the first leg, Arsenal needed a fast start and it got it.
Bayern clings on
Leo Messi gave Barcelona the perfect start by curling home an exquisite effort with just five minutes on the clock following a wonderfully intricate team move. Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Barca laid siege to the Milan goal with Andres Iniesta's shot turned onto the crossbar.
Barca blows Milan away
"I thought it was a bad challenge and I was 60 yards from the incident. The players knew because they were on top of it and there was a lot of bad feeling about that incident when it goes unpunished."
Elsewhere, Norwich was held to a 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
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In Italy, Edinson Cavani's double took Napoli to within nine points of Serie A leader Juventus.
With nine games of the season remaining, Walter Mazzari's side could ill-afford any further slip-ups and had to be at its best to see off Atalanta 3-2.
"I'm happy for Cavani and for (Goran) Pandev after their goals but also for securing the three points," Mazzarri told reporters.
"It remained close right up to the end and it was an edgy finish."
Mario Balotelli scored twice in Milan's 2-0 win over Palermo, while Inter's game at Sampdoria was postponed because of heavy snow and rain.
Francesco Totti scored his 226th Serie A goal as Roma moved up to sixth after a 2-0 win over Parma.
But Lazio suffered a 1-0 defeat in Turin as a late goal by Jonathas secured victory for Torino.
In Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Stuttgart, while Borussia Moenchengladbach defeated 10-man Hanover 1-0.
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Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid kept up the pressure on second place Real Madrid with a 2-0 win at Osasua. Diego Simeone's side is just one point behind Real following its latest victory.
After claiming its place in the quarterfinals of the European Champions League for the first time in its history, Malaga was brought back down to earth with a bump with a 2-0 defeat by Espanyol.
Eden Hazard was on target and Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea as it moved into third place in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over West Ham.
Dimitar Berbatov came back to haunt his former employer by scoring the only goal of the game as Fulham grabbed a shock 1-0 win over London rival Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Edinson Cavani was back to his best following a mini goal-drought after his double ensured Napoli moved to within nine points of leader Juventus courtesy of a 3-2 win over Atalanta.
Mario Balotelli scored twice as AC Milan claimed a 2-0 win over Palermo at San Siro. The striker scored from the penalty spot in the first half before doubling his account for the afternoon by lashing home from close-range.
Georg Niedermeier headed a second half winner as Stuttgart came from behind to defeat fourth place Eintracht Frankfurt. Stefan Aigner had given Eintracht a 17th minute lead but goals from Vedad Ibisevic and Niedermeier sealed the points for Stuttgart.
David Beckham played the full 90 minutes of Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 game at Saint-Etienne but could not prevent his team from squandering a two-goal lead as it was held to a 2-2 draw. Beckham returned to the scene of his infamous red card a the 1998 World Cup where he was sent off while playing for England.
A year previously, AZ Alkmaar players angrily protested when referee Bas Nijhuis sent off the club's goalkeeper after he kicked out at a fan of opposing team Ajax who attacked him during a Dutch Cup match.
Max Klein, left, is a young, up-and-coming referee in Germany. The 18-year-old thinks the only way clubs and fans will truly change their conduct is if they are hit with heavy fines.
Herbert Fandel is a former referee who is now head of the German Football Federation's referee commission. He admits violence is one of the reasons why the number of officials in Germany is decreasing.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho named Ovrebo and a number of his colleagues in a list of referees he considered to be sympathetic towards Barcelona. "I can't say what I feel. I only leave one question. Why?" said Mourinho after a 2011 Champions League semifinal loss to Barca. "Why? Ovrebo, (Massimo) Busacca, (Anders) Frisk, (Wolfgang) Stark, (Frank) De Bleeckere.
"Why to all these people. Each semifinal always brings the same. We're talking about a fantastic football team. So why?
The English Premier League has instigated a "Respect" campaign in a bid to stop match officials being subjected to abuse -- such as this during match between Queens Park Rangers and Stoke in May 2012.
Arjen Robben was a constant danger to the Arsenal defense and kept the visiting players busy as Bayern looked for an equalizer.
Bayern, which is 20 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, had not suffered a defeat since October 28 in any competition. Its frustration was clear to see with striker Mario Mandzukic aggrieved with his side's showing.
With just four minutes of normal time remaining, Arsenal grabs its second goal to set up a thrilling finale thanks to Laurent Koscielny's header. The Frenchman headed home to leave Bayern clinging on.
Bayern Munich duo Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller look relieved after the 2-0 home defeat, a result which takes the German side through on away goals following a 3-3 overall draw.
Malaga's Javier Saviola goes up against Porto's Alex Sandro with the Spanish club aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg.
Just two minutes before the break, Malaga made the breakthrough when talented midfielder Isco collected Manuel Iturra's pass and fired an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
Substitute Roque Santa Cruz netted a 77th minute winner to make it 2-0 on the night and send Malaga through 2-1 on aggregate.
Malaga's players celebrate at the final whistle following the 2-0 win over Porto -- a result which secured a 2-1 aggregate victory overall and its place in the quarterfinals for the first time in its history.
Xavi, captaining the side in place of Carles Puyol, jumps for joy after Messi's early strike. Barcelona looked a completely different side to that which lost at San Siro three weeks ago as it piled the pressure on Milan.
Milan wasted a glorious opportunity to equalize when M'Baye Niang raced clear and shot against the post and that miss was severely punished when Messi slammed home Barcelona's second of the evening.
David Villa curled home Barca's third on 55 minutes to put his side into the lead for the first time overall in the tie. The striker latched onto Xavi's delicate pass before bending the ball into the far corner.
Jordi Alba added a fourth in stoppage time as Barcelona became the first team to overturn a two-goal first leg deficit without an away goal in the history of the competition.
After holding Galatasaray to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turkey, Roman Neustaedter gave Schalke the lead in Gelsenkirchen with a close-range finish after 17 minutes.
Galatasaray pulled level when former Schalke man Hamit Altintop produced a stunning 25-yard effort to give the Turkish side a crucial away goal.
Galatasaray continued to look threatening and took a 2-1 lead three minutes before the break when Buruk Yilmaz ran through to score his eighth goal in this year's Champions League.
A mistake by Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera allowed Michel Bastos to equalize and make it 2-2 on the night as Schalke battled back.
With Schalke pushing forward in search of a winner, Galatasaray hit its opponent on the break with Umut Bulut racing clear to finish at the second attempt and send the Turkish side into the last eight thanks to a 3-2 win on the night and a 4-3 aggregate victory.
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