Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi brought his A-game on the table as Barcelona registered a comprehensive 5-1 win over Alaves. Messi scored twice from outside the box to outclass underwhelming Alaves.

It was Messi’s record-equaling 505th Spanish league appearance for Barcelona as he matched his former teammate Xavi Hernandes’ tally.

Portuguese forward Francisco Trincao opened the scoring in the game with a close-range goal in the 29th minute. Barcelona took control over the game after Trincao’s strike as Messi scored a stunning goal in the injury time of first half to extend their lead.


In the second half, Alaves tried to bounce back in the game with a goal in the 57th minute by Luis Rioja. However, Barcelona didn’t let them took the hold of the game as Trincao strike his second goal of the match with an excellent re-bound in the 74th minute.

Messi didn’t waste much time to stamp his authority over Alaves with a stunner from 25-yard which left the goalkeeper helpless in the 75th minute.


Left-back Junior Firpo added more pain to Alaves wounds with a goal in the 80th minute to seal the deal for Barcelona.

With the win, Barcelona also extend their winning streak in 2021 to 7.

Barcelona are now at the second spot in the La Liga with 46 points in 22 games. While Atletico are still leading the table with a healthy margin of 8 points with a game in hand.

The Catalan giants will next face Paris-Saint Germain in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the mega-encounter Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was happy with his team’s strong performances in the past few games in La Liga.

“The game comes at a good time,” coach Ronald Koeman said. “We are on a good run and creating lots of scoring chances. They are a strong team, but so are we.”

However, Koeman feels Barcelona will need their talisman Messi at his best to beat PSG in the first tie.

“Leo is decisive,” Koeman said. “When we find him with our interior passing lanes, and have players on the flanks giving him options, we make it easier for him because his vision is extraordinary. But to win this tie, we need Leo and all our players playing at their best,” he added.