Barcelona 6-1 Girona: Messi is the law at Camp Nou
Lionel Messi scored two but his performance was much more than the goals
Suarez also scored a hat-trick in an entertaining Catalan derby
Barcelona beat Girona at Montilivi earlier in the season but the game was notable for a lack of Lionel Messi magic. Pablo Maffeo man marked him and did a good job. But not on Saturday. On Saturday, Messi produced an astonishing 45 minutes which knocked out a Girona side which had taken a shock early lead.
FC BARCELONA
6 ________________ 1
GIRONA
LINE UP
FC BARCELONA
Ter Stegen, Semedo, Piqué (Vermaelen, 62'), Umtiti, Alba, Busquets, (Paulinho, 69') Rakitic (Sergi Roberto, 77'), Coutinho, Dembélé, Messi y Suárez.
GIRONA
Bono, Maffeo, Ramalho, Bernardo, Juanpe, Aday (Planas, 46'), Pere Pons, Borja García (Aleix Garcia, 62'), Granell, Portu (Douglas Luiz, 70') y Lozano.
GOLES
0-1, Portu (1'). 1-1, Suárez (5'). 2-1, Messi (30'). 3-1, Messi (36'). 4-1, Suárez (44'). 5-1, Coutinho (66'). 6-1, Suárez (77').
ÁRBITRO
Alberola Rojas (colegio castellano-manchego). T.A.: Jordi Alba (87')/Juanpe (61').
INCIDENCIAS
Partido correspondiente a la jornada número 25 de LaLiga Santander disputado en el Camp Nou ante 85.417 espectadores.
Messi scored two and played a part in the other two as Barca came from behind to lead 4-1 at the break. Luis Suarez got the other two goals and then completed his hat-trick, with Philippe Coutinho also on target as Barca won 6-1.
The night had started on a positive note for Barca, with Ernesto Valverde naming Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in the same starting lineup for the first ever time. However, Camp Nou was silenced when Samuel Umtiti hesitated in the early minutes, allowing Portu to slip in and fire past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Step forward Messi. First of all, almost immediately, he sent Suarez through for the equaliser. Then he created chances for Jordi Alba and Dembele with fine passes. Then he scored his goal, cutting in past three defenders before beating Bono in the Girona goal. Then he sent a free kick dashing under the wall to make it 3-1.
Nelson Semedo then burst forward, sending in Messi who led the attack from there. He played in Coutinho, who fed Suarez to score his second of the night.
Messi eased up after the break but Barca didn’t. Coutinho hammered home from 25 yards, his second goal for his new club, and Dembele set up Suarez for the sixth goal. The France winger improved in the second half and had been a constant threat, finally getting his reward in the form of an assist.
The only downside for Barca was injuries to Gerard Pique and Semedo. Pique’s knee still seems to be giving him problems. He was replaced by Thomas Vermaelen in the second half. And Semedo hobbled off late on, Barca finishing the game with 10 men.
Overall, though, it was a good night. Barca are now unbeaten through 25 league games and 10 points clear of Atletico, who play at Sevilla on Sunday. What’s more, though, it could be a glimpse of what’s to come from Valverde’s dazzling front four: Messi, Suarez, Coutinho and Dembele. Not bad.
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