Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MESSI’S FIVE STAR FINALE
Kebano: We’re off to Wigan to win and hopefully flip into Prem
LIONEL MESSI scored either side of half-time as Barcelona finished the season with a thumping 5-0 win over Alaves.
The Agentinian striker took his La Liga season goal tally to 25, along with 21 assists, for a Barca side that had already been dethroned by Real Madrid.
But the champions of the past two seasons went out with a bang, finishing the season with 86 goals and comfortably in second place.
They went ahead midway through the first half as Messi slipped a pass to Ansu Fati, who finished from close range.
Messi then went from provider to scorer before Luis Suarez, Nelson Semedo and Messi again completed the rout.
In Serie A, Parma looked in control at half-time when former Arsenal striker Gervinho and Bartosz Bereszynski, who turned into his own net, put the home side 2-0 ahead of Sampdoria.
But a double substitution at the break sparked a turnaround as Julian Chabot pulled one back and Fabio Quagliarella levelled.
Then 12 minutes from time one of those subs Federico Bonazzoli finished in the bottom right corner to seal a 3-2 victory.
NEESKENS KEBANO was head over heels after scoring his first goals in nearly three years.
And now the Congo winger reckons Fulham could be feeling the same way on Wednesday by overturning West Brom and Brentford, and landing in the Premier League.
Kebano dusted off his trademark somersault celebration after netting the opener in a topsy-turvy encounter where the Cottagers led 3-0 at the break but needed a stoppagetime strike from sub Bobby Decordova-reid to seal the win. Fulham responded to defeats for the Baggies and the Bees by taking their first mustwin game of the week.
Scott Parker’s side now go to Wigan looking to win a second – and hoping they can vault from fourth to second place if their two rivals slip up again.
“We just wanted to put a bit more pressure on them,” said Kebano. “It makes it even more exciting. No one expects us to be there but we are going to go to Wigan to win.” Kebano, named after 1970s Dutch legend Johan Neeskens, had not found the net since December 2017.
“I have no idea why I haven’t scored for so long,” he said. “I haven’t needed to practise the back flip though as I’ve been doing it since I was about 10.”
The Wednesday wall jumped less successfully in the second half to allow Kebano’s low freekick to pass under their feet for Fulham’s fourth.
“Luck was on our side today,” added the France-born star. Parker, who also praised standin captain Aleksandar Mitrovic whose brace made him the top scorer in the Championship, said: “People have had to stand up. We had three positive Covid tests at the start of lockdown and ‘Mitro’ suspended for three games. We’ve had to fix things.
“Neeskens was a prime example of that today. He was very good.” Less good was Harrison Reed getting a second yellow card in stoppage time to be banned at Wigan. Subs Atdhe Nuhiu (two) and Jacob Murphy had netted for a Wednesday side needing a result this week against Middlesbrough – and then another in the verdict in the longstanding EFL misconduct charge over the sale of their stadium where a points deduction still hangs over them.
Boss Garry Monk said: “We have to finish with a win.”