Barca hits ominous form ahead of PSG duel
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LIONEL Messi and Neymar scored three spectacular goals to keep Barcelona atop the Spanish league after routing Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday.
The flashes of brilliance from Barcelona’s best may give pause to anyone who thinks Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-0 cushion is surely insurmountable come Wednesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie.
The intimidating display also comes in the first match since coach Luis Enrique announced he would leave the club at the end of the season. “It didn’t serve as a warm-up for PSG as far as how they play, but confidence is basic in these types of situations,” Luis Enrique said.
Besides two goals, Messi also contributed to setting up second-half strikes by Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti, dealing a stinging win to a good Celta side which has beaten Barcelona and Real Madrid this season.
“We always trust in our coach and his staff,” Croatia midfielder Rakitic said about the team’s response to Luis Enrique’s departure.
“Hopefully we can pull off a miracle and turn around the result to stay alive in the Champions League.”
Messi’s goals took his league-leading tally to 23, including 14 in his last 12 league matches. They were also his 37th and 38th goal in as many appearances this season.
Barcelona stayed one point ahead of Real Madrid, which has a game in hand.
Earlier, Karim Benzema broke his eight-round scoring drought with two goals, stepping up with Cristiano Ronaldo out because of an unspecified physical problem and Gareth Bale serving the first of a two-game suspension as Real ran away 4-1 winner at Eibar.
Real also got goals from the little-used James Rodriguez and Marco Asensio to get a convincing win after three poor showings allowed Barcelona to tighten the title race.
“During a season there are moments that you have to suffer, sometimes you play a bit poorly, but that is normal over a season. Today we got back to playing well from the very start, playing with intensity,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane said. “This is a good sign.”
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