Madrid: Lionel Messi continued his remarkable run of form as his second-half double, including an impudent free-kick, helped Barcelona continue their march towards the La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Espanyol.
The visitors gave their city rivals a tough game at the Camp Nou, but Messi’s chipped free-kick over the wall from 19 yards and a late second kept the reigning champions 10 points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who thrashed Alaves 4-0.
Messi has now netted eight times in his last four games for Barca, and leads the way in the La Liga scoring charts with 31 goals, 13 ahead of teammate Luis Suarez.
“I had no idea he would hit (the free-kick) like that,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. “I would love to say that we had planned it, but it’s not true, it’s up to him. He didn’t need my opinion and he scored.”
It was a fitting way for the Argentinian to mark his 675th Barcelona appearance, which moved him ahead of Andres Iniesta into second on the club’s all-time list — 102 adrift of Xavi Hernandez.
He made a low-key return to international action in midweek as
Barcelona next visit Villarreal Tuesday with a second successive title looking even more like a mere formality after a sixth straight victory extended their unbeaten league run to 17 matches.
AFP