Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football’s three-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The champions got off to a flying start when Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored with a diving header in the second minute, while Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barca later in the first half.
Jordi Alba then added a third goal for Barca in the 79th minute after latching on to a through ball from Messi, who had also set up Braithwaite’s goal. The Argentine then completed the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Leganes remain deep in relegation trouble after losing 2-1 at home to Real Valladolid.
The home side got off to a nightmare start when a catastrophic mix-up between defender Chidozie Awaziem and goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar allowed Turkish forward Enes Unal to pass the ball into an empty net in the second minute.
Valladolid are up to 14th while Leganes are 19th on 23 points after 28 games, level with bottom side Espanyol who beat Alaves 2-0 earlier on Saturday.
Goals from Espanyol defender Bernardo Espinosa and forward Wu Lei handed the relegation-threatened side from Barcelona a precious three points.
Alaves had been reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when their starting Spanish keeper Pacheco was shown a straight red card after he misread a long pass and handled the ball just outside the penalty area.
Elsewhere, Villarreal midfielder Manu Trigueros scored a late winner to give his side a 1-0 La Liga away victory at relegation-threatened Celta Vigo in an otherwise lacklustre contest.
Both teams struggled to hit top gear at the Balaidos stadium following the long break due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Trigueros’ 91st minute strike sealed all three points and heaped more pressure on 17th-placed Celta.
Villarreal climbed to eighth place with 41 points from 28 matches while Celta have 26 points and are in danger of slipping into the bottom three.
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