It's a remarkable thing when a sportsperson produces a moment of exceptional all-time achievement, but the reaction to that excelsior moment becomes almost as powerful as the event itself. I'd argue that Lionel Messi fused those wonderful, human themes together on Sunday night: immense action followed by extraordinary reaction.

In my lifetime there have been many examples. Not identical, mind you, but moments that live on for reasons other than the athletic achievement no matter how important...

Thanks to Lionel Messi's hat trick, Barcelona went 10 points clear in Spain at the weekend and stay at No. 1 in my Top 10!

Dropping out: 

Agree? Disagree? Let us know, and watch Shaka defend his picks on ESPN FC TV, which airs daily on ESPN+.

It's not often a player gets a standing ovation ... from a stadium full of opposing fans. Such a plaudit is enough to top our Player Power Rankings. Our global editors pick their top 10 performers from the weekend.

Also receiving votes: Luis Alberto (Lazio), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao).

Let us know what you think of the countdown by commenting on Twitter using #ESPNFCrankings.

Here are three sentences whose words do no justice to the majesty of their content: In the depths of a molecular cloud, a star is born. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Lionel Messi chipped Pau Lopez in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday.

All three of the above sentences represent events that are noteworthy on an intergalactic scale. They all mark moments where aliens, sitting peacefully in their suburban homes, looked up to the skies from their Sunday papers and said: "Things done changed."

Though...

There's Lionel Messi, and then there's the rest. The weekend's football in Europe seemed to suggest so, although one must put this helpful caveat: Juventus gave Cristiano Ronaldo the weekend off.

Here are the best numbers from the weekend:

33

Lionel Messi scored his 33rd La Liga hat-trick in the course of Barcelona's 4-1 win away to Real Betis, also his 45th hat-trick for Barcelona across all competitions. He also has six hat-tricks for the Argentina national team, taking his overall tally in competitive...

Lionel Messi scored a stunning hat trick as Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-1 on Sunday to move 10 points clear at the top of La Liga.

Messi opened the scoring in the first half with an arrowed free kick into the top corner and added Barca's second just before the break after a brilliant no-look back-heel assist from Luis Suarez.

- Messi humbled by Betis fans' standing ovation

Suarez, who missed two brilliant chances to further extend Ernesto Valverde's side lead, eventually added the third with a...