Lionel Messi was again the star of the show as a under full strength Barcelona side eased to a 4-1 win over Málaga. The Argentine hit his fifth hatrick of the season and guided Barcelona to their thirteenth win of the season. Málaga started the stronger of the two sides in the first five minutes but never really troubled the Barcelona defence in the opening stages. Málaga counter attacked well though. Isco found space on the edge of the area and curled his shot towards the top of Valdés' goal. The Spanish keeper showed his class by pulling off a great save.
The resultant corner also forced Valdés into action. Isco again found room to shoot, but Valdés produced a stunning double save to keep the scores level.
Barcelona began to fight their way back into the game. Piqué will be disappointed after failing to hit a free header on target. Another defender also failed to take his chance. Wednesday night's scorer Abidal failed to control a chipped ball from Messi and the chance was wasted.
Messi broke the deadlock three minutes later. Rising majestically to connect with Adriano's cross. The 5ft 7" Argentine scoring a rare header to put Barcelona ahead.
Due to Barça's inconsistent record away this season, Guardiola wasn't happy with only a one goal advantage. So when the sides went in level, Guardiola urged his men to finish the game off.
The second half started off brightly. Constant pressure from the Catalans eventually overloaded Málaga's defence and allowed room for Alexis Sánchez. Caballero failed to deal with Thiago's long range effort and could only palm it away to Adriano's feet. The full-back crossed effectively and found a free Alexis. The Chilean scoring his sixth goal of the season and doubling Barça's lead.
It was no surprise as Messi doubled his goal tally for the game on the 49th minute. World class play from the Argentine as he picked the pocket of Málaga's midfield then weaved his way through the defence. The run ended with Messi dropping his shoulder and coolly finishing into the bottom left hand corner.
The leading La Liga goal scorer was unlucky not to complete his hatrick at the 75 minute mark. A well hit free kick collided with the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal line and came back out. A couple of centimetres lower and Messi would have surely put this game at out of sight.
Even just with eight minutes remaining Messi was still on the look for goals. A trademark goal from Messi of sublime ball control and skill saw him ease past the Málaga defence. A clever finish earned Messi his hatrick and his 36th goal of the season. Baring in mind it's only the halfway point of the season, a goal tally of 60+ seems very likely for the three time Ballon D'Or winner.
Málaga did earn a consolation though. A similar mistake to Cabellero early in the game, as Valdés saved a long ranged shot back out to Rondón's feet. No sign of a comeback for Málaga but Guardiola will be disappointed not to keep a clean sheet for the fifth game in a row.
Málaga continue to slump down the table with this defeat while Barcelona close the gap to just two points behind Real Madrid, temporarily at least as Madrid play later tonight at home to Athletic Bilbao.
Full time result: Málaga 1-4 Barcelona
Goal Scorers: Málaga: Rondón (83) Barcelona: Messi (32, 49 & 80) Alexis (46)
Team lineup:
Málaga: Caballero, Gamez, Demichelis, Mathijsen, Monreal, Camacho, Maresca (Rondón 60), Cazorla (Recio 79), Eliseu, Isco, Van Nistelrooy (Seba Fernández 60) Subs: Wellington, Duda, Buonanotte, Sergio Sánchez, Kameni
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Iniesta (Pedro 73), Thiago, Adriano (Dos Santos 67), Messi Alexis (Cuenca 64) Subs: Pinto, Puyol, Cesc, Xavi
Formation: 4-3-3
Stadium: La Rosaleda
Referee: Undiano Mallenco
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