Off to great start
Messi outshines Madrid trio
MADRID — By himself, Lionel Messi has already scored more than Real Madrid's top three forwards combined.
The Barcelona star is off to one of the best starts of his career with 14 goals in 11 matches, two more than what Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have netted so far with Madrid.
And Messi has done it despite being sidelined for three weeks because of an injury.
"Messi has been superb," Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said simply.
The Argentina forward hadn't started a season with so many goals since 2011-12, when he scored 14 times in 10 matches.
So far, Messi has already scored eight more goals than he did last season at the same point. He has two hat tricks and is the leading scorer in both the Spanish league and the Champions League. In his last six games, he has scored 11 goals, with six coming in the three games he played since recovering from a right groin strain.
Messi's rivals at Madrid have not come close to him this season.
Ronaldo has nine goals, but that includes five with Portugal in World Cup qualifying. He is currently in a slump in the Spanish league with only two in six matches.
"I prefer that he always scores two or three goals a game but I'm not worried," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Tuesday. "He's not scoring with the chances that he's getting at the moment but the important thing is that he's getting chances. He'll score soon and everyone will relax."
Benzema scored his fourth goal of the season in a Spanish league game last weekend, while Bale has netted seven times in 14 appearances. Three of his goals came in three World Cup qualifiers with Wales.