Barcelona set a new record for the best-ever start to a La Liga season on Sunday when a 3-1 win at Malaga allowed them to remain 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid and 18 in front of Real Madrid.
Ballon d’Or winner Messi scored for a ninth successive league game and then supplied Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara for the second and third goals. He now has 28 for La Liga season.
Barcelona have 55 points from 19 games with 18 wins and a draw, breaking the previous mark for the halfway stage of the campaign which they set at 52 points in the 2010 to 2011 season.
Photo: AFP
“We’re very happy to get 55 out of 57 points, but logically it will be difficult to repeat that with the Champions League and the Spanish Cup to think about as well,” Barca coach Tito Vilanova said. “We have Atletico 11 points behind us and we have to go there and to Real Madrid so we can’t just stop now, we have to keep going.”
Willy Caballero in the Malaga goal was determined to show why his side have the best defensive record in La Liga and he robbed the ball from Messi’s foot when it seemed the Argentinian would dance round him to open the scoring on seven minutes.
He was alert again to block at the feet of Pedro Rodriguez, but he could do nothing when Messi intercepted a poor back pass from Ignacio Camacho on 27 minutes and cut back to avoid the advancing goalkeeper, before sliding the ball home for the opener.
The home side, who started the day in fourth spot, were struggling to create chances and it was not until a Roque Santa Cruz glancing header on 37 minutes that Victor Valdes was first called into action in the Barca goal.
Fabregas doubled the lead five minutes into the second period when Messi found the former Arsenal captain with a perfectly weighted chip on the left hand side of the area.
He still had a lot to do, but with a simple left foot control and right footed shot he slid the ball past Caballero.
Substitute Thiago wrapped things up with a left-footed drive after exchanging passes with the Argentinian with eight minutes to play before Buonanotte’s consolation.
Atletico Madrid made it 10 wins out of 10 at home this season with a 2-0 victory over Real Zaragoza.
Portuguese midfielder Tiago Cardoso got a header and Radamel Falcao hit a penalty for the win that means Atletico stretch their lead over city rivals Real Madrid in third place to seven points. Real could only draw 0-0 at CA Osasuna on Saturday.
Atletico controlled the game from start to finish and their early pressure finally paid off on 31 minutes when Tiago powerfully headed home a Gabi corner at the near post to break the deadlock.
The lead was doubled six minutes later when Falcao blasted home from the penalty spot after Arda Turan’s surging run was halted by Zaragoza’s Romanian full-back Cristian Sapanaru.
That makes it 18 league goals for the season for the Colombian.
Real Betis Balompie moved above Malaga into fourth position and a Champions League berth with a 2-0 win at home to Levante UD.
Costa Rican forward Joel Campbell, on-loan from Arsenal, hit the first on seven minutes before Ruben Castro wrapped up the win on 63 minutes with a clever turn and drive for his 11th league goal of the season. Ten man RC Deportivo de La Coruna, who had Evaldo dismissed with almost 30 minutes remaining, held on for an important 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad that keeps the Galician side a point ahead of Osasuna at the bottom of the table.
They went ahead with a Pizzi goal midway through the first period, but Carlos Vela equalized for Sociedad with a well hit, curled shot just before the break.
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