Messi leads Barcelona in La Liga return

Lionel Messi scored one and set up two more goals as Barcelona picked up where it left off before a three-month stoppage for the COVID-19 pandemic, beating Mallorca 4-0 to extend its Spanish league lead. (Source: Reuters)

Messi was as quick and dominant as ever despite not having played a match since early March. He showed no signs of being slowed down by the right leg muscle pain he suffered last week that put his return in doubt. (Source: Reuters)

Messi and the other starters also behaved and played as normal on the pitch, hugging after first-half goals by Arturo Vidal and Martin Braithwaite and not maintaining social-distance recommendations during cooling breaks. (Source: Reuters)

The game was played without spectators as part of the league's health protocols to limit contagion risks, but that did not stop one man from invading the pitch briefly in the second half. (Source: Reuters)

Once Messi probed the relegation-threatened Mallorca for its weaknesses, he began taking opponents on. Messi dribbled past four defenders in one run down the middle of the pitch in search of another goal, before halftime gave the hosts a breather. (Source: Reuters)

The Spanish league became the second major European league to resume when Sevilla beat Real Betis on Thursday. Germany started last month. Italy resumed cup action on Friday. England gets underway next week. France went the other route and declared Ligue 1 over. (Source: AP)

Barcelona increased its lead to five points before nearest challenger Real Madrid hosts Eibar on Sunday. (Source: AP)