No Messi-ng around
Argentine double gives Barca win as Atletico thrash Las Palmas
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored twice and saw a penalty saved as Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the season in La Liga with a 2-0 win at Alaves.
Without new signing Ousmane Dembele, who completed the second most expensive transfer ever by moving for €105mil (RM535mil) from Borussia Dortmund on Friday, or the injured Luis Suarez, Messi ensured Barca didn’t lose any early ground in the title race despite a tumultuous start to the campaign off the field.
The five-time World Player of the Year missed from the penalty spot for the 20th time in his career as Fernando Pacheco produced a stunning save midway through the first half.
However, Messi wasn’t to be denied as his deflected effort opened the scoring shortly after half-time before a sweetly-struck volley secured all three points.
“We came here at a time when people are saying a lot of things about Barca, and that can have a negative impact. But the team showed that was not the case,” said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.
“We’re happy because we have overcome a difficult test.
“We’ve overcome difficult moments, we have six points and we can now move forward.”
Barca’s pre-season preparations were rocked by the loss of Neymar to Paris St Germain for a world-record €222mil (RM1.1bil).
Dembele has been bought to replace the Brazilian, but Barca’s business may not be finished with a final push for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho expected before the Spanish transfer window closes on Friday.
“We hope that by the 31st (of August) we have an even more competitive team, that is clear,” added Valverde.
“We want an even better team and if there is a possibility we are open to it.”
Zinedine Zidane’s son, Enzo Fernandez, made his Liga debut as a late substitute for Alaves but was unable to help the Basque side get back into the game.
Paulinho made his Barca debut when he came on in the 88th minute.
Elsewhere, Koke scored a sensational double as Atletico Madrid made light of Antoine Griezmann’s absence through suspension to register their first win of the campaign with a 5-1 rout of Las Palmas.
Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco got the visitors off to the perfect start in the Canary Islands inside five minutes.
Jonathan Calleri briefly gave Las Palmas hope with a towering header after the break, but Atletico instantly replied when Koke curled into the top corner.
The Spanish international then produced an acrobatic overhead kick from close range before Thomas Partey’s drive rounded off the scoring.
Girona got their first ever win in the top flight as Pedro Alcala scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Malaga.
Levante fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Deportivo Coruna thanks to Ivi’s late penalty. — Agencies