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Lionel Messi was back in the goals for Barcelona with two stunning strikes for the Catalan giants in a 5-1 win over Alaves in La Liga at the Camp Nou on Saturday night.
The 33-year-old found the back of the net early in the game with a low strike but saw it ruled out after VAR adjudged Antoine Griezmann to have been marginally offside in the build-up.
Yet Messi was not deterred and struck in first-half stoppage time with a vintage goal. The forward went past his defender before curling home a stunning strike that went in off both posts.
Messi’s goal made it 2-0 to the hosts after youngster Francisco Trincao had opened the scoring earlier in the match from a pass by Ilaix Moriba who was making his La Liga debut.
Trincao made it 3-1 in the second half after Messi had been denied by goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco before the captain scored another cracker from range to make it 4-1.
Messi now has 15 La Liga goals for the 2020-21 campaign. Only former team-mate Luis Suarez, with 16 for league leaders Atletico Madrid, has scored more than the Barcelona captain in the Spanish top flight this season.
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Praise for Messi
There was plenty of praise for Messi and his goals as the captain warmed up for Tuesday’s Champions League visit from French champions Paris Saint-Germain in some style.
Messi’s goals mean he has now scored in five consecutive La Liga games for the first time since April 2019. The captain was also playing his 505th match in La Liga for Barcelona, meaning he equals Xavi’s record of all-time appearances in the league for the Catalan giants.
PSG Up Next For Barcelona
Barca will now turn their attentions to the visit of PSG on Tuesday night. The two sides meet at the Camp Nou for the first leg of their last-16 tie, and Barca manager Ronald Koeman was clearly thinking about the game with his team selection against Alaves.
The Dutch coach started youngsters Ilaix Moriba, Trincao, and Riqui Puig, while regulars such as Jordi Alba, Ousmane Dembele, and Pedri were afforded some rest and dropped to the bench.
Koeman also gave Sergio Busquets a breather, taking the midfielder off at half-time of the match against Alaves with his team 2-0 up and bringing on Samuel Umtiti for the second 45 minutes.
The Barca boss will want his team in top form and firing for the visit of PSG in what should be an intriguing tie. PSG have a star-studded squad but will be without former Barca star Neymar due to injury.
Messi has three goals and two assists in four Champions League matches so far this season and will surely relish taking on PSG. The French champions have regularly been linked with a move for Messi this summer, but the Argentine is said to be “fed up” with the speculation about a move to the Ligue 1 side.
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