Leo Messi returned in style with two fine strikes |
FC Barcelona’s defense of their league title began
with a 6-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday evening with a goal
from Arda Turan, two for Leo Messi and a Luis
Suárez hat-trick.
It may be a new season, but it was the same free-flowing attacking
football on display at the Camp Nou that the home faithful
have come to expect, as Barça cruised to a comfortable win to open the league
campaign.
If there were any nerves ahead of kick-off, they quickly subsided
when Jordi Alba brought down Messi’s cross, before picking out
Arda, who then prodded home to make it 1-0 after just six minutes.
It was the Turkish international’s third goal in four days after his
midweek brace against Sevilla in the Spanish Super
Cup.
But just as the home side looked to be getting into their rhythm,
Betis responded with a goal out of nowhere.
Betis’ top scorer from last season, Ruben Castro,
fired a free-kick from the edge of the box, and although Claudio Bravo managed
to get a hand to it, the venom of the shot took it beyond the keeper and into
the top corner for 1-1, ending Barça’s run of almost 13 hours of competitive
football without conceding.
Messi’s threaded passes in and around the area caused havoc to the Betis
defence all game long, and his through ball to Suarez on 26 minutes resulted in
the Uruguayan being pushed to the ground but no penalty was awarded.
The decision seemed to spring Barça into life as, in the very next
attack, Messi struck the frame of the bar. Soon enough, the Catalans were back
ahead, and this time, the no.10 would not be denied.
In typical Messi fashion, the Argentine shifted the ball onto his
magic left-foot and released an unstoppable effort from around 25 yards into
the corner of the net.
And on the stroke of half time, Barça gave themselves a two-goal
advantage – just as Alba did for the opener, Sergi Roberto on the opposite
flank showed presence of mind to pause before picking out Suárez who, with a
first-time take, buried the ball into the far corner to make it 3-1.
Despite the two-goal cushion, Barça emerged for the second half in
no mood to let the match simply fade out, as a flurry of attempts rained in on Antonio
Adan’s goal. A Messi strike from the edge of the box looked to be
squirming into the corner after the keeper’s save but Arda’s touch ruled the
goal out for offside. Rakitic’s left-footed swing then went just wide of the
post before an acrobatic Denis Suárez attempt was comfortably
saved by Adan.
Betis did manage to venture forward on 56 minutes, but it came at a
price, as the visitors’ broken-down corner led to a swift Barça counter-attack.
A fine combination between Arda, Messi and Luis Suárez culminated in the latter
tapping in from close range to make it 4-1.
No sooner than the Barça faithful had sat down from celebrating,
they were up again as another powerful Messi strike from the edge of the box
past a helpless Adan.
Luis Suárez was the league’s top scorer last season with a whopping
40 goals, and the Uruguayan looked intent on sending a clear message to
opposition defences for the campaign ahead. The no.9 sealed his hat-trick with
a beautifully whipped free-kick for 6-1.
There was still time for Betis to grab a consolation, as the ball
fell kindly to Ruben Castro whose strike found the bottom corner for his second
of the game.
It was a near perfect start for Luis Enrique’s side to kick off the
new season in front of their own supporters. The match also saw league debuts
for Samuel Umtiti and Denis Suárez who
started the game, as well as Lucas Digne who came on in the
second half for Alba.
Barça’s next challenge is a tricky trip to Bilbao to take on
Athletic Club in Week 2 of La Liga on Sunday 28 August.
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