Tuesday, March 17, 2015

'Messi-inspired Barca march four points'

Luis Enrique's men take a 2-1 lead into Wednesday's Champions League last 16, second leg at home to Manchester City, will be at least a point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga when they host their arch rivals on Sunday and are through to May's King's Cup final to face Athletic Bilbao.

A big reason Barca are riding high is the form of talisman Lionel Messi, who has been scoring for fun since the turn of the year.

The Argentina forward added two more goals in Saturday's 2-0 La Liga win at Eibar, which put Barca four points clear of Real ahead of their match at home to Levante later on Sunday.
Messi made it 2-0 with a rare header from an Ivan Rakitic corner 10 minutes into the second half, his 32nd La Liga goal of the campaign and his 43rd in all competitions, two more than he managed in the whole of an injury-disrupted 2013-14.

Two goals clear of Real's Cristiano Ronaldo as La Liga's leading marksman this term, Messi has scored at least twice in 120 matches for club and country, 112 for Barcelona and eight for Argentina.

To their credit, Eibar, playing in La Liga for the first time this season, refused to capitulate to their illustrious visitors and forward Federico Piovaccari struck a shot against the crossbar late on.

"It was a very good, solid performance against a team that caused us a lot of problems," Barca coach Luis Enrique told a news conference.

"We will go into the game (against Real) as leaders and in perfect shape."

Messi's scintillating recent form bodes well for Wednesday's Champions League last 16 return match at home to Manchester City when Barca will defend a 2-1 lead from last month's first leg.

Barca's game at Eibar was also noteworthy for midfielder Xavi making a club record-extending 750th appearance when he came on as a second-half substitute for Rakitic.

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