Lionel Messi scored in his 500th match for Barcelona to help it ease past Real Betis 4-0 Wednesday and ensure it kept the lead of the Spanish league to conclude a superb year for the Catalan club. Barcelona broke a run of consecutive draws in the league to cap one of its best years in club history. Before kickoff Andres Iniesta paraded its recently won Club World Cup trophy, its fifth title won in 2015. The four goals scored took its year's tally to 180, bettering Madrid's milestone of 178 from 2014. "It was a spectacular year and we wanted to finish it in the same way," Messi said. "It will be complicated to better this, but like always we will try to do so." Messi recovered from a hard knock with Antonio Adan that was ruled a penalty against the Betis goalkeeper, by scoring Barcelona's second goal, after an own goal put the Catalan side on its way. "It was a strange game. I don't know if it was a penalty or not, when I was hit I didn't realize what had happened," Messi said about the collision with Adan that left him on the ground and momentarily silenced the Camp Nou. While Messi was being examined by team doctors, Neymar stepped up to take the penalty, only to send his shot off the crossbar. Betis defender Heiko Westermann disputed the rebound with two Barcelona players, but he ended up batting it into his own net just before the half-hour mark. Three minutes later, Messi played Neymar through with a long pass that he returned for the club's all-time leading scorer to notch his 425th club goal. Betis coach Pepe Mel was sent off for protesting moments later, and his team never showed signs of mounting a comeback. Luis Suarez scored twice after halftime to take over from Neymar as the competition's leading scorer with 15, and only the woodwork — which Messi, Neymar, and Dani Alves all hit in the second half — saved Betis from an even bigger loss. With a game still to play, Luis Enrique's team leads La Liga on goal difference from Atletico Madrid, which scored twice in the final four minutes to win 2-0 at crosstown rival Rayo Vallecano. Angel Correa finished off a flowing buildup engineered by fellow substitute Thomas Partey to break the deadlock in the 87th, and Antoine Griezmann struck again in the 90th. Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid remain two points behind the pacesetters after he missed one penalty before converting a second spot kick and adding another goal to lead a 3-1 win over injury-ravaged Real Sociedad. The win took some pressure off beleaguered coach Rafa Benitez, who was jeered by some of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd for Madrid's erratic form this season when his name was announced before the match. Also, Raul Garcia gave Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win over fourth-place Celta Vigo, while fifth-place Deportivo La Coruna drew 0-0 at Getafe. Malaga left Levante in last place with a 1-0 win, Sevilla downed Espanyol 2-0, Las Palmas routed Granada 4-1, and Eibar defeated Sporting Gijon 2-0.
