Madrid: Lionel Messi delivered another masterful performance as Barcelona sailed past Athletic Bilbao 2-0 yesterday in the Spanish league.
After putting Chelsea to the sword in the Champions League midweek, Messi scored for the sixth game in a row against Athletic at the Camp Nou to propel Barca closer to the domestic title.
A dominant start from Barca yielded the opening goal after just eight minutes as Messi found Jordi Alba out on the left, his pull back neatly side-footed into the far corner by Paco Alcacer, filling in for the suspended Luis Suarez.
The hosts looked a constant threat early on and Philippe Coutinho was denied a second when he rattled the woodwork, while Ousmane Dembele should have done much better with just Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat.
But the Athletic goalkeeper was powerless to keep out a crunching low drive from Messi on the half hour, the Argentine taking a touch to control a pass from Dembele before lashing home.
Coutinho, the club’s record signing, struck the woodwork for a second time as he tried to lob Kepa after latching onto a clever lofted pass from Paulinho, who then smacked a curling shot of his own against the upright.
Barca remain unbeaten in La Liga with nine games of the season remaining.
Earlier yesterday, Sevilla suffered a hangover from their Champions League triumph over Manchester United as they lost 2-1 at mid-table Leganes, their sixth defeat in 12 league games under coach Vincenzo Montella.
Sevilla qualified for the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition for the first time by beating United 2-1 at Old Trafford on Tuesday but went behind to Leganes four minutes before halftime to a looping header from defender Unai Bustinza.
Montella made three changes from the side that had stunned Old Trafford, giving a starting berth to Wissam Ben Yedder after he scored twice after coming off the bench on Tuesday, but his side rarely got going against Leganes.
Forward Javier Eraso side-footed home a second goal for the home side in the 69th minute and things got worse for Sevilla when midfielder Pablo Sarabia was sent off in the 84th for picking up two yellow cards inside 11 minutes.
Miguel Layun pulled a goal back for Sevilla in the 90th minute.
Sevilla are fifth in the Liga standings on 45 points.