The Uruguayan struggled at the start of last season, too, eventually scoring 31 goals in all competitions, but it's his sluggishness and poor touch which are really worrying. His first goal was Barca's 6,000th league goal - he also scored the 5,000th way back in 2009 - and his second goal means he now has 385 goals in Spain's top flight.Ĭoutinho's second-half cameo will also have pleased coach Ernesto Valverde, who will be happy to have started the season with three points and no injuries.īarca once again relied on Messi to find the breakthrough and the lack of support from Luis Suarez was once again an issue. He looked in brilliant shape, creating, organising, scoring and even hitting the woodwork twice. #Messi 2014 sub indo free#LLUIS GENE / AFPīARCELONA, Spain - A second-half brace from Lionel Messi and a Philippe Coutinho strike got Barcelona's defence of La Liga off to a winning start on Saturday as they beat Alaves 3-0.Īlaves, who were the last team to win at Camp Nou in the league, back in September 2016, made it to the break goalless, but their resistance was eventually broken in the 64th minute when Messi ripped a free kick under the wall.Ĭoutinho, who came on at half-time, sealed the points late on, bursting into the area and hammering past Fernando Pacheco before Messi added the third in stoppage time.ĭisappointment at the World Cup with Argentina is clearly not going to have an effect on Messi's club form. Lionel Messi picked up right where he left off for Barcelona, opening the 2018-19 season with a well-taken brace.
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