| Advertisement |
Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Barcelona star Lionel Messi picked up a perfectly-placed assist and had two scores in a 5-1 win over Valladolid. Messi totaled two assists in the La Liga victory Tuesday at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. Clement Lenglet, Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez also scored for Barcelona.
Advertisement
Lenglet scored in the second minute for Barcelona before Kiko netted an equalizer for Valladolid in the 15th minute. Messi put Barcelona ahead with his picture-perfect assist in the 29th minute.
Messi brought down a pass while about 35 yards from the net before drawing three Valladolid defenders. He then stopped his progress and lofted a cross over the back line of defenders, bending the feed ahead for Vidal, who used his right foot to deflect a shot past Valladolid keeper Jordi Masip.
Messi sniped in a free kick in the 34th minute, giving Barcelona a 3-1 edge. He set up for the kick while about 30 yards from the goal. He ran up to the spot and smacked the ball with his left boot, curling the attempt from left to right before finding the upper right corner of the net.
Ivan Rakitic helped Barcelona add to the lead in the 75th minute. The Croatian star split the defense with a short pass ahead for Messi during the sequence. Messi tapped the ball through the box before blasting a shot into the right side of the net, beating a diving Masip.
Messi assisted Suarez for the final score about two minutes later. The Argentine striker dribbled down the middle of the field before grounding a feed ahead for Suarez, who used his right boot to place a first-touch shot into the far-post netting.
"We are satisfied because we know what happened last season with Valladolid. We won 1-0 with a few problems," Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde told reporters. "We have seen Valladolid draw with Real Madrid and Atletico and we know they have potential."
Barcelona battles Levante in another La Liga matchup at 11 a.m. EDT Saturday at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia in Valencia, Spain.
