MADRID, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Both FC Barcelona's Leo Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo prepared for the Clasico en the Copa del Rey in the best possible style this weekend.
Spain's two historic rivals will play the first leg of their cup semi-final on Wednesday night in Madrid's home ground.
Ronaldo kicked off preparations on Sunday with a hat-trick as his side defeated Getafe 4-0 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, while later in the day Messi went one better as he netted four goals in Barca's 5-1 triumph at home to Osasuna.
Barca and Madrid have already met three times this season, with Madrid winning the Supercup on away goals after losing 3-2 in the Camp Nou and winning 2-1 in the Bernabeu, while the side's drew 2-2 in the Camp Nou earlier this season in the BBVA Primera Liga.
Last season saw Barca knock Madrid out of the Cup and Ronaldo is clearly keen to beat Madrid's bitter rivals.
"It is a very important game for us and it is going to be very difficult," he said in Monday's edition of sports paper, Marca. "We are going to play against one of the toughest teams in the world, so it is going to be a great night. We are at home and we have a very good chance of winning, although we will have to play well, because we know Barca are a fantastic side."
"I hope it will be a great night for us and we are all looking forward to playing our best," he said.
Expectation for the game is high among Real Madrid fans and with just 11,000 tickets remaining, the match will be a 78,000 sell out.
Meanwhile Messi set a new record as he scored in his 11th consecutive league game: something nobody has done in Spain before. It is another record for the man who last year set a new record total of 91 goals in a calendar year, but Messi insists re-writing the record books is not his primary aim.
"Breaking records is not my objective. I want to win everything possible every season and I want to do it with my team, be it with Barcelona or the Argentina national side," said Messi
Barca's win takes them back to 11 points clear at the top of the Primera Liga table, but he refused to accept that either he or his side are perfect.
"We try to improve in every possible way in life and football is no different I don't think we will ever be perfect, but I will leave that in hands of the coach," said the Barca striker.
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