Girona took the lead inside three minutes at Camp Nou, but Barcelona responded quickly and often, putting six goals past the European hopefuls. Girona's early lead at Camp Nou was short lived as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez orchestrated a masterful Barcelona win to continue their march toward the La Liga crown. Girona's early lead at Camp Nou was short lived as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez orchestrated a masterful Barcelona win to continue their march toward the La Liga crown.
BARCELONA -- Lionel Messi surprised his teammates and his manager with a free kick in Barcelona's win against Girona which evoked memories of Ronaldinho's effort against Werder Bremen in 2006.
Barca recovered from going 1-0 down to Girona in the third minute of Saturday's Catalan derby at Camp Nou to win 6-1, with Messi producing a stunning first-half performance.
The Argentine international set up Luis Suarez for the equaliser before beating three defenders inside the box to give Barca the lead.
He then scored Barca's third, firing a free kick under the leaping Girona wall, before driving forward to feed Philippe Coutinho, who set up Suarez.
Asked after the game about Messi's free kick, Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said in a news conference: "It's hard to get used to these things.
"Just when a player seems to have done everything, he goes and surprises you. We were waiting to see how he was going to beat the wall and then he goes underneath it.
"When you see it, you think 'ah, of course...' Leo makes it look easy, but it's not that easy."
Messi's assist for Suarez's opener was his 148th in La Liga and he has now created and scored more goals than any other player in the league's history.
Lionel Messi sent a free kick under the wall to help Barcelona see off Girona.
Coutinho, who scored the fifth before Suarez added the sixth, completing his hat trick, says even the Barca players didn't know what Messi had up his sleeve.
"Leo is amazing," Coutinho told Movistar. "He fooled everyone with his goal from the free kick under the wall.
"It's incredible how good he is. With each game, I have a better understanding with him and with Suarez. [Messi's] very important for us."
Valverde started Barcelona's two record signings for the first time since having them both available, with Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele lining up alongside Messi and Suarez.
It worked to devastating effect, with all four involved in at least one of the goals as Barca extended their unbeaten start to the league season to 25 games while moving 10 points clear of Atletico Madrid, who play Sevilla on Sunday.
"Both [Coutinho and Dembele] are players we have high hopes for," Valverde added. "Coutinho plays well inside and out and he has a great shot on him, as he showed for his goal.
"Dembele offers more width, he's a winger and he's still very young. He has had problems with injuries which affected his adaption but now he's back for the important part of the season.
"When a player gets a goal, like Coutinho, it's a boost for their confidence, which players always need. I think that's what Dembele was looking for throughout the game. I think that, as the match progressed, they got better and better, especially Dembele."
Valverde also played down concerns over Gerard Pique, who was taken off in the second half with a knock, but not one which was related to his recent knee problems.
Nelson Semedo, meanwhile, will undergo tests on a hamstring injury on Sunday after being forced off in the final minutes of the game.
Samuel Marsden covers Barcelona for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @SamuelMarsden.
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk