BARCELONA, Feb 14: Twice a pack of Alavés defenders thought they had Lionel Messi under control. Twice Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer proved them wrong.
Messi scored two screamers in his record-equaling 505th Spanish league appearance for Barcelona to help them stay in touch with leader Atlético Madrid on Saturday.
Messi struck twice from well outside the area as Alavés was beaten 5-1. Messi matched former teammate Xavi Hernández’s club record for the most league appearances by starting the match at Camp Nou.
Forward Francisco Trincão also scored twice in Barcelona’s win before it hosts Paris Saint-Germain in their highly anticipated Champions League clash on Tuesday.
Atlético win
Atlético got goals from Marcos Llorente and Ángel Correa to win at Granada 2-1 and bounce back from a draw against Celta Vigo in the last round, which ended a winning run of eight consecutive rounds.
Diego Simeone’s side, which has lost only once in 21 rounds, is eight points clear of Barcelona and titleholder Real Madrid.
Strong Sevilla
Sevilla earned a ninth consecutive win across all competitions and strengthened its hold on fourth place after Munir El Haddadi’s second-half header downed Huesca 1-0. Borussia Dortmund comes to Sevilla in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.
Also, Eibar was held by Valladolid to 1-1. (AP)
