Barcelona lay down marker against Villarreal
Monday, August 29, 2011
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Lionel Messi scored twice and Thiago Alcántara and summer recruits Cesc Fàbregas and Alexis Sánchez were all on target as FC Barcelona eased past Villarreal CF in their Liga opener.
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Lionel Messi scored twice as FC Barcelona got their Spanish Liga defence off to the perfect start with a 5-0 home victory against Villarreal CF on Monday.
The European champions have already lifted two trophies this month – the Spanish Super Cup and, on Friday with a 2-0 defeat of FC Porto in Monaco, the UEFA Super Cup – and were full of confidence against their fellow UEFA Champions League contenders.
Thiago Alcántara slotted in the opener from outside the box in the 25th minute despite the presence of four yellow-shirted defenders. Cesc Fàbregas doubled the lead as half-time approached after collecting a Messi pass, taking the ball past Diego López and rolling it into an empty net.
Fellow summer signing Alexis Sánchez then scored his first league goal for the Azulgrana (47), another tidy finish from Thiago's chipped pass which left the Villarreal defence flat-footed, before Messi got in on the act by dispatching fine assists from Andrés Iniesta (52) and Thiago (74).
