Barça seem to be well and truly back on form and La Liga‘s big three teams are back at the top of the table after the defending champions thrashed Sevilla 4-0 on Sunday.
Lionel Messi secured his first goal of the season by curling in a free-kick at Camp Nou after three goals in eight minutes from Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele had already finished off Sevilla.
‘It was crucial for us,’ said coach Ernesto Valverde whose team ended the game with nine men.
‘It has been a strange start to the season and we have not added all the points we would have wanted.’
Suarez scored a stunning left-footed bicycle kick – even better than the volley he scored in the Champions League win over Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Vidal then finished a superb move that involved all 11 Barça players and Dembele powered through to make it three before Messi added a fourth in the second half.
The match descended into farce late on as Barcelona’s debutant Ronald Araujo was sent off and Dembele followed after collecting a second yellow card for dissent.
Barcelona are now second in the table, two points behind Real Madrid and one above Atletico Madrid, who only managed a goalless draw away at Real Valladolid.
Barça and Real Madrid now head into the international break not only as the league’s two frontrunners but with confidence and momentum too.
Eden Hazard scored his first goal for Real Madrid in their 4-2 win over Granada on Saturday and Barça’s star man Messi is off the mark as well after his own injury-interrupted start to the season. This was Barça’s fourth consecutive victory.
Messi’s return has increased the pressure on Antoine Griezmann, who was left out of the starting line-up following his subdued display against Inter Milan.
La Liga results from Matchday 8 (of 38) played between 4-6 October
Played Friday 4 October
Real Betis 1 Eibar 1
Played Saturday 5 October
Leganes 1 Levante 2
Real Madrid 4 Granada 2
Valencia 2 Alaves 1
Osasuna 2 Villarreal 1
Played Sunday 6 October
Mallorca 2 Espanyol 0
Celta Vigo 1 Athletic Bilbao 0
Valladolid 0 Atletico Madrid 0
Real Sociedad 1 Getafe 2
Barcelona 4 Sevilla 0
La Liga Table – Monday 7 October 2019
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals For/Against, Points)
Real Madrid 8 5 3 0 16 8 18
Barcelona 8 5 1 2 20 10 16
Atletico Madrid 8 4 3 1 7 4 15
Granada 8 4 2 2 15 10 14
Real Sociedad 8 4 1 3 13 9 13
Sevilla 8 4 1 3 10 11 13
Athletic Bilbao 8 3 3 2 7 4 12
Valencia 8 3 3 2 12 12 12
Villarreal 8 3 2 3 19 13 11
Levante 8 3 2 3 10 10 11
Osasuna 8 2 5 1 7 7 11
Getafe 8 2 4 2 12 12 10
Valladolid 8 2 4 2 7 8 10
Eibar 8 2 3 3 10 10 9
Celta Vigo 8 2 3 3 5 9 9
Real Betis 8 2 3 3 11 16 9
Alaves 8 2 2 4 5 9 8
Mallorca 8 2 1 5 6 12 7
Espanyol 8 1 2 5 4 14 5
Leganes 8 0 2 6 4 12 2
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