Lionel Messi scored 4 goals for the first time since 2013 as Barcelona won 6-1 against Eibar.
Lionel Messi was at his magical best against Eibar as Barcelona thrashed the visitors by 6-1 to maintain their 100 percent winning rate since the start of 2017 La Liga campaign. The Catalans made it five wins from five matches thanks to another Lionel Messi masterclass which took his tally to 11, while Denis Suarez, as well as summer signing Paulinho, found the net for the second time in succession.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde entered without the injured Ousmane Dembele, after he was ruled out for four months due to a torn hamstring injury, and he also opted to rest several regulars like Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, however, that mattered little as Lionel Messi stepped up and composed an irresistible musical on the ground.
For the first half, the hosts were in complete control of possession of the ball and had marked their territory, but they weren’t ruthless enough in creating chances, although Gerard Deulofeu, as well as Nélson Semedo, were tormenting Eibar from the right side while giving Lionel Messi a couple of chances to test the Eibar goalkeeper.
Extra Cover: Lionel Messi To Remain At Barcelona Until 2021
Soon enough, in the 20th minute, Deulofeu and Semedo’s attack bore fruit and the Catalan giants got their first two goals on that side of the pitch. First, it was Semedo who won a penalty inside the box and Lionel Messi calmly scored the spot kick and just a few minutes later (38’), another great combination between Semedo, Deulofeu and Lionel Messi won Barca a corner, and Paulinho scored his second in two appearances with a bullet header.
With the victory wrapped up and 35 minutes of the game still left to play Barcelona did a mistake by dropping their guard and Eibar took advantage as Sergi Enrich left M. Ter Stegen gawking with his strike.
However, It didn’t take long for Ernesto Valverde’s men to make sure the game would not take an interesting turn with Lionel Messi scoring his second just two minutes after Enrich’s goal. The Barcelona superstar still was hungry for goals as completed his hat-trick after an assist from Paulinho followed by a fourth on an assist from substitute Aleix Vidal to end the game with complete dominance.
Twitter, as you would expect, didn’t hold back and here are the best tweets:
Lionel Messi:
Scored 4+ goals for the 6th time in Barcelona career
43 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions in 2017 pic.twitter.com/ZwVGtzoM1o— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) September 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/910256978164928512
Messi wasn't satisfied with just a hat trick today vs. Eibar. pic.twitter.com/1zKrQBRs0c
— ESPN (@espn) September 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/910264407611015169
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/910289309428617216
https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/910262511542431745
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