adminMessi scored five in Barcelona’s 7-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, and his double on Sunday also enabled him to close to within five of matching Cesar Rodriguez’s club record of 235.
“Messi stands out from every other player in the world,” Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas said. “It is a pleasure to play with him and to have him on the same team because he gives you that extra dose of confidence that every champion needs.”
The Argentina forward has scored 16 goals in his past six matches for club and country. Messi had 53 goals in 55 matches for his club last season. He already has 50 in 43 matches so far this campaign.
Barcelona’s fourth straight victory kept them 10 points behind runaway leaders Real Madrid, but with 12 rounds to play the defending champions’ chances of catching their fierce rivals are dwindling.
Messi broke through Racing’s 10-man defence in the 29th minute, and the three-time Fifa World Player of the Year added a penalty in the 56th as Barcelona enjoyed a rare easy win away from Camp Nou.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, however, insisted that his team had been put to the test.
“We had to make a big effort,” Guardiola said. “We played well on a pitch that didn’t favour passing the ball. They packed in their defence, and that is never easy.”
Racing coach Alvaro Cervera, who became the troubled club’s third coach of the season on Friday, could do little but watch as Barcelona kept the relegation-threatened side winless for an eighth straight week.
Cervera made Racing’s strategy clear from the start. While some teams have had limited success pressing Barcelona, the former Racing and Spain player opted for his side to sit back and try to resist their opponents’ precision passing game.
But the hosts’ defensive stance led to zero shots on goal and failed to stop Messi from taking his league goal tally to 30 — two behind Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the list.
“Entering the game 13 points behind (Madrid), we couldn’t afford a slip,” Guardiola said. “We imagined they could play one way or the other, but we had to come out looking for the win from the first minute.”
Barcelona hardly missed the injured David Villa and Alexis Sanchez, with the trio of Messi, Fabregas and Andres Iniesta proving to be too much for Racing.
Barcelona dominated possession from the start but needed to get the hang of the uneven turf at El Sardinero stadium before Iniesta hit the crossbar with a delicate chip shot in the 23rd.
The European champions eventually besieged Racing in their own area for Messi to score.
He combined with Fabregas, laying off to the midfielder and pushing forward to dive and knock his cross into the net for the sixth goal set up by Fabregas in the league this season.
Racing sent on striker Christian Stuani at halftime but to no effect.
Messi made it 2-0 in the 56th from the penalty spot, coolly stroking the ball into the bottom right corner after Fabregas had been fouled in the area by Racing defender Domingo Cisma.
Also on Sunday, it was: Atletico Madrid 2, Granada 0; Espanyol 5, Rayo Vallecano 1; Valencia 2, Mallorca 2.
Osasuna beat Athletic 2-1 in a hotly contested encounter that kept the fans on the edge on their seats in the last minutes.
On Saturday, Madrid beat Real Betis 3-2 for a club-record 10th straight away win. Also, it was: Real Sociedad 3, Zaragoza 0; Malaga 1, Levante 0, Sporting Gijon 1, Sevilla 0.
Online Reporter