On 21 August 2010, Messi scored a hat-trick in his first start of the season in a 4–0 victory over Sevilla in the Supercopa de España, helping Barcelona secure their first trophy of the season after a 1–3 first leg loss.[110] He also began his league season with a goal, scoring after just 3 minutes against Racing Santander on 29 August 2010. He then continued his excellent form into the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Panathinaikos where he scored 2 goals, assisted another 2 and also hit the goal-frame on 2 separate occasions. He also missed a penalty, though. Barcelona won the match 5-0.
On 19 September 2010, Messi suffered an ankle injury due to an ill-advised tackle by Atlético Madrid defender Tomáš Ujfaluši in the 92nd minute of their Round 3 match at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. At first sight it was feared that Messi suffered a broken ankle that could have kept the star player away from the pitch for a minimum of six months but MRI performed the next day in Barcelona showed he suffered a sprain in the internal and external ligaments of his right ankle.[111] Team-mate David Villa stated "the tackle on Messi was brutal" after watching the video of the play and also added that he believed the Atlético defender "didn't go into the tackle to hurt".[112] The incident caused widespread media attention and brought up the debate of equality in protecting all players in the game.
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