Philippe Coutinho nets world-class score in Barca win vs. Girona

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Philippe Coutinho's first La Liga goal for Barcelona was an absolute missile Saturday in a 6-1 win against Girona at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain.

The other shots weren't too shabby either, with three coming off of the boot of Luis Suarez and another two goals from Lionel Messi.

Girona got things started in the matchup by capitalizing off of a poor defensive play from the home team. Spanish forward Portu finished after taking possession, giving Girona a 1-0 lead at the three minute mark.

Barcelona evened up two minutes later. Messi led Suarez into the box with a pretty through ball. Suarez took one touch before easily netting a score under Girona keeper Bono.

Messi put himself in the scoring column after receiving a tap from Suarez in the 31st minute. The Argentinian superstar went all the way to the end line, drawing three defenders. He managed to dance away from the crowd and get parallel to the goal, before firing a fade-away shot into the net while falling down.

He scored again six minutes later. Messi lined up for a free kick, just outside the box, on that score. He eyed the Girona wall and placed a quick shot at their feet. When the defenders jumped, the ball skipped under them and was too quick for Bono to stop.

Coutinho, Messi and Suarez were all involved in Barcelona's fourth score in the 45th minute. Messi dribbled down the pitch and hit a through ball into the box for Courtinho. The Brazilian then tapped a short pass to Suarez, nutmegging a defender. Suarez touched in an easy score after the feed.

Barca took a 4-1 lead into the half before adding two more scores.

The first goal in the second half came in the 66th minute, off of the boot of Coutinho. The Barcelona newcomer received a ball from Messi and dribbled to the left outside corner of the box, before turning back inside. He then fired a wicked shot from about 24 yards out, bending it into the far post netting.

Suarez completed his hat trick with the final goal of the match in the 76th minute. Ousmane Dembele crossed a ball in from the right side and Suarez deflected in a shot to the left side of the goal, easily beating Bono for a sixth time. The score was Suarez's 19th in La Liga.

Barcelona has another La Liga matchup at 3 p.m. on Thursday when it travels to face Las Palmas at Estadio Gran Canaria in Las Palmas, Spain.