As if winning one’s sixth Ballon d’Or were not enough, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi wanted to make a further statement last weekend—It’s a new year and I’m still at my peak—and he did so emphatically.
Scoring three sublime goals, each with pace yet placed magnificently, the diminutive Argentine outscored opponents Mallorca 3-2 on the way to a 5-2 home turf win on Saturday. Luis Suarez with a circus back heel, and Antoine Griezmann who opened the scoring with a perfect chip on the run, on a breakaway, completed the Barca win.
Messi and a select group of teammates were allowed a break in their final, and to Barca meaningless, Champions League match today, while the likes of Suarez, Griezmann, and Ivan Rakitic were expected to shoulder some of the load at the San Siro against a desperate Inter.
The round started on Friday with Villarreal being held 0-0 at home by Atletico Madrid. On Saturday, Real Madrid beat visiting Espanyol 2-0, Granada won 3-0 at home over Alaves, and Levante lost at home 2-4 to Valencia, who were looking forward to playing away to Ajax today for their Champions League qualification.
On Sunday, Eibar lost at home 0-1 to Getafe, Betis beat visiting Athletic Bilbao 3-2, Real Valladolid were held 0-0 at home by Real Sociedad, Leganes beat visiting Celta Vigo 3-2, and Osasuna drew 1-1 at home by Sevilla.
At weekend’s conclusion, Barcelona led the table with 34 points and a +23 goal differential to Real Madrid’s 34/21 while Sevilla came in third with thirty-one points.
The top scorer is, thanks to his weekend hat trick, Barcelona’s Messi with 12 goals and five assists, followed by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema with 11 goals and five assists, and Barca’s Suarez leads a slew of scorers at eight goals and two assists each.
You must be logged in to post a comment.