( CNN ) -- Real Madrid may have ended Barcelona 's Spanish title reign in midweek , but Lionel Messi is poised to dethrone Cristiano Ronaldo as La Liga 's goal king after adding four more to his tally on Saturday . The three-time world player of the year paid the ultimate tribute to Josep Guardiola in the coach 's final home game , which ended in a 4-0 victory over city rivals Espanyol . The Argentina forward went into the match having already broken Gerd Muller 's longstanding record of 67 goals in a European season , and he took his tally to an incredible 72 ahead of next weekend 's closing league game at Real Betis . Fifty of those have come in La Liga , putting him five clear of Ronaldo -- who also scored in Saturday 's 2-1 win at Granada that kept Real seven points clear of Barca . It was an emotional night at the Camp Nou , where Guardiola said farewell to the fans he has enthralled with his team 's magical style of football since taking over in 2008 . `` I 'll see you all soon , you will never lose me . I will miss you all very much . I 'm the one on the losing end , '' he told the crowd . Then , referring to his assistant Tito Vilanova , who will take over the top job next season , he added : `` I leave you in the best possible hands . You do n't know how appreciated I feel when I go home . Thank you all . '' Messi opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a superb free-kick , then his second-half treble was aided by two penalties either side of a trademark low left-foot drive . Ronaldo , who topped the La Liga scoring charts last season with a then record 40 goals , was also on target from the spot as Madrid came from behind to snatch victory . Granada , battling to avoid relegation , led through Franco Jara in the fifth minute , but the world 's most expensive player leveled in the 81st minute after being brought down in the box . Then , in time added on , David Cortes diverted Karim Benzema 's cross into his own net to give Real the chance to finish the season on 100 points with victory next Sunday . Valencia guaranteed third place -- 29 points behind Barca -- with a 1-0 win over Villarreal , who face a final-day fight to avoid dropping into the bottom three . Malaga 's bid for fourth place suffered a blow with a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid , who are now two points adrift in fifth . Levante and Mallorca are another point back after the latter side won their clash 1-0 . Second-bottom Sporting Gijon could still survive after a 2-1 win over Betis left the club three points adrift of Zaragoza and Vallecano .
Derby takes his La Liga tally to 50 goals this season with four against Espanyol . Pep Guardiola 's match marks coach Pep Guardiola 's final home game before stepping down . Argentina is five goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of closing round next weekend . Messi star has now scored five times for his club in all competitions this season .