Messi bagged a brace and got an assist on the occasion of his landmark appearance as Barca climbed back up to second in La Liga standings.
Putting on arguably their best performance of the season, FC Barcelona cruised to a 6-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Lionel Messi, who was playing his 768th game in the club colors, overtook former teammate Xavi Hernandez to become Barcelona’s record appearance maker. Messi put in another phenomenal display to mark his special occasion as he was involved in three of his side’s six goals.
The Argentine set Sergino Dest up with a sublime through ball before getting on the scoresheet himself by dinking the ball over the opposition goalkeeper at the 56th minute. In the final minutes, he added another with a left-footed finish.
Antoine Griemann had opened the scoring for Barca, smashing home when ball fell into his path after Ousmane Dembele’s shot was saved by Alex Remiro. Dest also scored a double while Dembele, who had a goal disallowed due to offside, was also on target.
Player Ratings:
Real Sociedad: Remiro – 5, Gorosabel – 4, Zubeldia – 4, Normand – 5, Merquelanz – 4, Guevara – 6, Zubimendi – 4, Merino – 5, Portu – 5, Isak – 6, Oyarzabal – 5, Barrenetxea – 7, Januzaj – 6, Fernandez – 6
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – 7, Mingueza – 7, Lenglet – 6, De Jong – 6, Dest – 8, Busquets – 7, Pedri – 6, Alba – 8, Griezmann – 7, Dembele – 7, Messi – 9
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