No starting issues as Messi stars in Barcelona win as La Liga returns

Barcelonas Lionel Messi celebrates scoring against Real Mallorca during a La Liga match on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Lionel Messi returned without a beard and with a goal and two assists as Barcelona resumed their La Liga title challenge on Saturday with a thumping 4-0 victory over Real Mallorca.

After three months away because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Barca exploded into the lead with just 64 seconds played when Arturo Vidal headed in and Martin Braithwaite struck a second from a Messi headed assist.

Pitch invader stops play
Jordi Alba latched onto a Messi pass to add a third but not before play was stopped by a pitch invader, who was able to run on, despite the match being closed to fans. Messi then scored a fourth in injury time for his 25th goal of the season. "I-m happy because starting like this is an enormous boost for what-s to come," said Barcelona coach Quique Setien.

Victory extends Barca-s advantage at the top of La Liga to five points over Real Madrid. Messi will be crucial to Barcelona-s hopes of holding off Madrid but their captain, who turns 33 this month, may have to pace himself, especially after an injury-interrupted season. Clean shaven, and without any sign of the thigh problem that prevented him from training earlier this month, Messi played 90 minutes and looked like he had never been away.

His goal was set up by Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has not played since undergoing knee surgery in January and was able to recover during the suspension. Asked what pleased him most, Setien said: "The satisfaction of seeing Luis again on the field. You have to admire the performance he gave in those 35 minutes that he played. Starting like this is important for him and for the team as well."

Atletico held 1-1 by Bilbao
Meanwhile, Diego Costa scored his first goal since October but Atletico Madrid missed the chance to move into top four by drawing 1-1 away at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Costa-s equaliser came two minutes after Iker Muniain had given Bilbao the lead towards the end of the first half.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel @middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever