It was sheer magic and mastery as records continued to tumble like ten pins again for Lionel Messi as he scored Barcelona’s final goal in their 4-0 rout of Real Mallorca, keeping them top of La Liga.<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi\u2019s return to the pitch was certainly one well worth waiting for as the diminutive wizard coolly set another record in Barcelona’s 4-0 win at the visitors home venue.<\/p>\n
The Argentine was simply magnificent as he pretty much conserved his energy the entire match w and dropped deep in midfield setting up his masterclass to feed shots to his players. Invariably he would be also the one who scored his side’s final goal of the night in the dying minutes to bag his 20th league goal of the season.<\/p>\n
It means magical Messi has become the only player to hit the 20-goal mark in 12 consecutive seasons, besides already holding a host of La Liga goalscoring records and now casually adds yet another to his list.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old is still currently occupying his regular spot at the top of the goalscoring charts and in assists as well.<\/p>\n
In the rout of Mallorca he helped provide assists for his team-mates on Saturday night, hence taking his tally to 14.<\/p>\n
The other players on target for the Catalans were Arturo Vidal, Martin Braithwaite and Jordi Alba.<\/p>\n
With this decisive win, Barca extend their lead over Real Madrid\u00a0to five points, at least momentarily, as Los Blancos will be playing on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
An enervated Quique Setien said after the game that he had “good feelings” after his side’s first serious outing since the pandemic postponed the season.<\/p>\n
“The feelings are good,” he said. “There are always things that you want to improve, but I am satisfied with the game we have made.<\/p>\n
“We have had an effectiveness…but we were fine with the ball. We have had a break, but I am very satisfied.<\/p>\n
“To be the first game without playing, we could be accused of a lack of rhythm, but I think it is a good start to face this sprint that we have 10 games left. I have good feelings in general.”<\/p>\n
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