Messi dominates as Barca cruise home
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored once and played his part in four more goals as Barcelona closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a commanding performance to beat Athletic Bilbao 5-2 on Sunday.
The four-time World Player of the Year opened the scoring with a deflected freekick and then teed up Luis Suarez to double the visitors’ advantage.
Mikel Rico briefly gave Athletic hope after half-time, but Messi’s goalbound header was then turned into his own net by Oscar de Marcos before Neymar rolled home Barca’s fourth from another Messi pass.
Aritz Aduriz made it four goals in a crazy six minute spell by pulling another goal back for Athletic, but the hosts ended the game with 10 men after Xabier Etxeita was shown a straight red card for a horrible challenge on Suarez before Pedro Rodriguez added a fifth.
Barca have now won their last nine games, scoring 34 goals in the process, and will be further boosted by Real’s ragged showing in their 4-0 destruction at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
“It is clear the team are all united and pulling in the same direction,” Suarez told Barca TV. “Players of the class of Messi and Neymar will always make the difference. I just have to enjoy playing with them.”
Messi took his tally for the season to 33 with the opener on 16 minutes, but there he had a touch of fortune as his free-kick struck Aymeric Laporte in the Athletic wall and wrong-footed goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.
The hosts had a great chance for an instant response as Iker Muniain picked out Aduriz, but Claudio Bravo got down well to turn his effort behind.
Moments later Iraizoz made amends for his weak hand in the opener with a stunning save to prevent Suarez heading home a perfectly weighted cross from Messi.
Bravo was called into action again to parry Markel Susaeta’s well-struck freekick, but Barca tore through the Athletic defence once more on 26 minutes as Messi laid the ball into Suarez’s path for the Uruguayan to thump home his first goal in five games.