Barcelona thrash Athletic Club as Lionel Messi breaks yet another club record
Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Club: Paco Alcacer and Aleix Vidal both got rare goals while Messi broke yet another club record
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.After a week that focused on Barcelona having been robbed by a phantom goal, a comfortable 3-0 win laid those ghosts to rest - for now - and kept the defending La Liga champions on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.
Coasting to a 3-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, Luis Enrique's men buried the Basques and saw superstar number 10 Lionel Messi become the club's top scorer from free kicks.
Paco Alcacer, finally, scored his first league goal since joining from Valencia last year by turning in a pass from Neymar in the 18th minute. It was the sort of finish we had come to expect from the centre-forward whose early months at the Nou Camp have been nothing short of a disaster. The hope will be that, having broken his Liga duck, he can find some rhythm and form as Barca attempt to chase down Madrid.
Messi then whipped in an angled strike in the 40th minute, his 27th goal from a free kick for Barca, to break a club record.
Aleix Vidal scored the most impressive goal of the game by finishing off an audacious solo run and help further his rehabilitation into the squad.
Luis Enrique had made six changes to the team that beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Wednesday's King's Cup semi-final first leg, resting top scorer Luis Suarez, and it looked a risky move as Athletic made a bold start, although the hosts' quality soon shone through.
Barca stayed second in the standings, moving one point behind Real Madrid but have played two games fewer than the leaders, who are due to visit Celta Vigo on Sunday although the game is in danger of being postponed due to extreme weather conditions.
Third-placed Sevilla visit Las Palmas on Sunday and Atletico Madrid host Leganes later on Saturday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments