( CNN ) -- The goals just keep flowing for Lionel Messi , who on Sunday surpassed soccer legend Pele 's mark of 75 in a calendar year to help Barcelona bounce back from a rare defeat . The Argentina star netted twice in the 4-2 win at Mallorca that kept the Catalans three points clear in Spain 's La Liga , leaving him just nine short of Gerd Muller 's all-time record . The 25-year-old , who became a first-time father earlier this month , was able to put a bit more enthusiasm into his new thumb-sucking celebration than when he scored late in the shock midweek Champions League loss to Scottish side Celtic . `` Leo continually breaks records . His goal tally is spectacular , '' said Barca manager Tito Vilanova , who has yet to experience a domestic league defeat after his first 11 matches in charge , equaling the best start to a season set by Real Madrid . `` It takes other great players seven or eight seasons to score the amount of goals he scores in one season . Also , some of his goals are absolute beauties . '' Read blog : Is loyalty Barca 's biggest strength ? Messi has now scored 64 goals for his club and 12 for his country this year , from just 59 matches overall . Pele managed 75 from 53 as a 17-year-old in 1958 , helping Brazil to win the World Cup for the first of a record five times . Muller , a World Cup winner in 1974 , surpassed Pele 's record in a year that West Germany won the European Championship . Messi has yet to win a senior title with Argentina , though he won Olympic gold with the under-23 side in 2008 . He has nine matches left this year to catch Muller -- six in La Liga , two in the Champions League and one in the Spanish Cup . His two goals against Malaga gave him 15 in the league this season , three clear of his big rival Cristiano Ronaldo -- who scored the opener in Real Madrid 's 2-1 win on a waterlogged pitch at Levante in Sunday 's late match . Ronaldo , switched to a central attacking role with Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain out injured , suffered an early blow above the eye and was taken off at halftime . The Portugal captain is now Real 's seventh highest league scorer with 124 goals since his arrival from Manchester United in 2009 in a world-record $ 130 million transfer . Levante leveled in the second half through Angel Rodriguez , but 20-year-old Alvaro Morata headed an 84th-minute winner with his first touch of the ball on his debut to keep Jose Mourinho 's third-placed defending champions eight points behind Barcelona . Real inflicted Levante 's first home defeat this season , hitting the crossbar twice and missing a penalty by Xabi Alonso , whose late freekick set up substitute Morata 's winner . Atletico Madrid retained second place after beating Getafe 2-0 . Adrian Lopez scored a first-half opener after his initial attempt was saved , while Arda Turan 's second-half effort was allowed to stand despite a clear handball in the buildup . In Italy , Inter Milan failed to reduce Juventus ' four-point lead after suffering a surprise 3-2 defeat at Atalanta . Veteran striker German Denis netted in the 60th and 67th minutes to put the home side 3-1 ahead , while Inter reduced the deficit through his fellow Argentine Rodrigo Palacio before Atalanta substitute Facundo Parra was sent off in time added on . Napoli stayed third with a 4-2 win at Genoa , while fourth-placed Fiorentina won 3-1 away to troubled 2010-11 Serie A champions AC Milan . Milan 's sixth defeat in 12 league games left last season 's runners-up in 13th place , with coach Massimiliano Allegri 's future increasingly in doubt . Lazio consolidated fifth place with a 3-2 win in the capital derby against Roma , as both teams had a player sent off . In Germany , Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to go above fourth-placed champions Borussia Dortmund after losing 3-1 to third-bottom Wolfsburg . Leverkusen stayed a point above Hanover , who won 4-2 at Stuttgart .
Lionel Messi scores twice as Cristiano Ronaldo beat Mallorca 4-2 on a calendar year . Argentine forward moves past Pele 's landmark 75 goals in Sunday . He now has nine more matches to beat the record set by Messi in 1972 . Gerd Muller 's rival Cristiano Ronaldo suffers eye injury in Real Madrid victory .