Match ends, Barcelona 3, Alavés 0.
Lionel Messi scores twice as Barcelona start La Liga title defence with 3-0 win over Alaves
- From the section European Football
Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona got their La Liga title defence off to a winning start with a deserved, hard-fought victory over Alaves.
Messi fired a fantastic free-kick under the wall to open the scoring - Barcelona's 6,000th La Liga goal.
Half-time substitute Philippe Coutinho then cut inside to curl home a second.
And Messi controlled Luis Suarez's pass with his chest, beat two defenders and steered a low shot into the bottom corner of the net in injury time.
Messi, now Barcelona's captain after Andres Iniesta's move to Japan, had also hit the woodwork twice - with a free-kick that deflected off the bar and another effort coming off the post.
He has scored in 15 consecutive La Liga seasons.
Barcelona were made to work hard for the win by Alaves, who offered little going forward and only had three shots, none on target, and 21% possession.
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Messi, who also hit Barcelona's 5,000th La Liga goal eight years ago, has scored 6.4% of the club's top-flight goals ever.
Barcelona, who brought on summer signings Arthur and Arturo Vidal for league debuts, beat Sevilla 2-1 in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
Real Madrid get their league campaign under way on Sunday, at home to Getafe (21:15 BST). Atletico Madrid visit Valencia on Monday (19:00 BST).
Elsewhere in La Liga, Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla made his first appearance since October 2016 for Arsenal following a serious Achilles tendon injury. Unfortunately for him, his side lost 2-1 at home to Real Sociedad.
Line-ups
Barcelona
- 1ter Stegen
- 2Cabral SemedoSubstituted forCoutinhoat 45'minutes
- 3Piqué
- 23Umtiti
- 18Alba
- 20Roberto
- 5BusquetsSubstituted forVidalat 85'minutes
- 4Rakitic
- 11DembéléSubstituted forRamos de Oliveira Meloat 77'minutes
- 9Suárez
- 10Messi
Substitutes
- 7Coutinho
- 8Ramos de Oliveira Melo
- 12Rafinha
- 13Cillessen
- 14Silva de Oliveira
- 15Lenglet
- 22Vidal
Alavés
- 1Pacheco
- 21Aguirregabiria
- 5Laguardia
- 6MaripánBooked at 41mins
- 3Duarte
- 11Gómez
- 22Wakaso
- 16TorresBooked at 10minsSubstituted forMarínat 68'minutes
- 19García Sánchez
- 23Rodríguez MenéndezSubstituted forBastónat 68'minutes
- 7SobrinoSubstituted forFranco Alvizat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 13Sivera
- 14Franco Alviz
- 15Navarro Jiménez
- 17Marín
- 18Bastón
- 24Twumasi
- 27Perera
- Referee:
- José María Sánchez Martínez
- Attendance:
- 52,356
Match Stats
Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamAlavés
- Possession
- Home79%
- Away21%
- Shots
- Home25
- Away3
- Shots on Target
- Home9
- Away0
- Corners
- Home7
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home6
- Away13
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Barcelona 3, Alavés 0.
Goal!
Goal! Barcelona 3, Alavés 0. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Luis Suárez.
Offside, Barcelona. Ivan Rakitic tries a through ball, but Lionel Messi is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sergi Roberto.
Hand ball by Adrián Marín (Alavés).
Foul by Arthur (Barcelona).
Manu García (Alavés) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Dangerous play by Luis Suárez (Barcelona).
Adrián Marín (Alavés) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Arturo Vidal replaces Sergio Busquets.
Goal!
Goal! Barcelona 2, Alavés 0. Coutinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Arthur.
Attempt saved. Coutinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lionel Messi with a through ball.
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Guillermo Maripán.
Attempt missed. Adrián Marín (Alavés) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Ibai Gómez following a set piece situation.
Foul by Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona).
Burgui (Alavés) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Manu García (Alavés).
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Arthur replaces Ousmane Dembélé.
Hand ball by Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona).
Offside, Barcelona. Sergi Roberto tries a through ball, but Lionel Messi is caught offside.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Adrián Marín (Alavés).
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Fernando Pacheco.
Attempt saved. Luis Suárez (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Alavés. Burgui replaces Rubén Sobrino because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution
Substitution, Alavés. Borja Bastón replaces Jony.
Substitution
Substitution, Alavés. Adrián Marín replaces Daniel Torres.
Foul by Sergi Roberto (Barcelona).
Rubén Duarte (Alavés) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) hits the left post with a left footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Luis Suárez.
Goal!
Goal! Barcelona 1, Alavés 0. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) from a free kick with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Rubén Duarte (Alavés).
Attempt blocked. Coutinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Offside, Barcelona. Ivan Rakitic tries a through ball, but Lionel Messi is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Coutinho following a corner.
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Guillermo Maripán.
