With his 22nd double of 2012, Lionel Messi has reached his 90 goals that has not only resulted in Barcelona's win over its closest rival Atletico Madrid by 4-1 on Sunday but also has opened up a nine-point lead and it sitting 13 in front of Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

The recent goals have gained Barcelona its league-record of 15th victory in 16 rounds, which has come just after the struggling Madrid conceded in the final minutes to draw 2-2 at home with cross town rival Espanyol.

The match was definitely tough with Atletico striker Radamel Falcao playing brilliantly in the beginning when he opened the scoring in the 31st minute but the game turned in the next five minutes with Adriano's unstoppable long-range strike, and Sergio Busquets making it 2-1 before halftime.

But it was Messi's game that put the result beyond doubt in the 57th minute with the final word in the 88th minute that prolonged his incredible year to the game.

The top two scorers of the game at Camp Nou stadium were Messi and Falcao. The charts now show Messi with 25 goals in the league this season and Falcao with 17.