Thrilling Barça ease to victory(4-1)

Thrilling Barça ease to victory(4-1)

Lionel Messi was in outstanding form once again as he scored twice to help Barça to a convincing victory against Real Zaragoza as the Blaugrana eased to victory on Wednesday evening.
After beating Lyon and Sevilla at home in the last week, Frank Rijkaard's side made it three-out-of-three with an incredible first half display that showed the growing confidence within the team. real Zaragoza arrived with an attacking line-up as they looked to make a game of it, but the visitors were unable to cope with the wave after wave of attacks from their hosts. The damage was done inside the first 45 minutes as Barça scored all four of their goals before the break, but could have increased their lead by a few more had César not been in such outstanding form in the away team's goal. Messi does it again In the fourth minute, Messi showed that he was fired up as skipped past Francelino Matuzalem and Francisco Pavón before rifling a low shot wide of César's left-hand post from just outside the area. Just 60 seconds later the deadlock was broken and who else could it have been as Messi set off from just inside the Zaragoza half and skipped down the left wing before passing the ball into the edge of the area where Deco just miss, but Henry was able to make contact and roll it back for the Argentinian to curl it into the far corner of the net and put Barça ahead. Goals at either end Víctor Fernández's attacking gamble looked to have paid off as Zaragoza they equalised in the ninth minute, soon after Diego Milito had struck the post with a drive. Pablo Aimar received the ball on the edge of the area and rolled it to his right where Alberto struck it first time across Valdés and into the far side of the goal. The visitors hardly had time to celebrate their leveller when they fell behind again as Messi edged in from the right before rolling the ball to the middle once again. As Márquez tumbled over the ball, Deco took control and rolled it back to Messi who steered his second of the evening past César to put Barça back into the lead. Ronaldinho honoured In the 13th minute, Thierry Henry looked to add his name to the scoresheet, but was denied by César after he had skipped past Sergio to create space to shoot. Ronaldinho may not have been in attendance, but the Brazilian was honoured by the home crowd who chanted his name to remind that despite the magic happening in front of them, the fans have not forgotten their Brazilian hero. Gianluca Zambrotta's night was then cut short as he limped out of the game in the 20th minute to be replaced by Oleguer Presas. The change did not alter the hectic pace of the encounter and Barça continued to press forward in search of more goals. Finishing the job Two minutes later Barça extended their lead as Deco played the ball inside to Messi who returned the favour by slotting a pass into the area for the Portuguese international to the ball across goal where Iniesta arrived at the far post to tuck home from close range. The pace continued and six minutes before the break Deco spurned a golden chance as he edged into the area and was picked out again by Messi, but the Barça midfielder slid his shot across the face of goal and wide of the far post. Zaragoza must have been waiting for the half-time whistle, but they were to receive one more blow before being able to escape to the sanctuary of the dressing room. In minute 46 Deco swung a free-kick over the wall from the left-hand corner of the area and César made what appears to be an incredible save as he palms it onto the post. The Zaragoza keeper looked stunned as the ball dropped kindly back in front of his goal and Márquez had the simple task of nodding in Barça's fourth from close range. Looking for a fifth The second period had a lot to live up to and although the pace dropped slightly, it was still almost all one-way traffic as the Blaugrana again used all their attacking options to go in search of a fifth goal. Deco and Messi again combined well with a move that the Argentinian started a neat interchange before running forward to meet the return pass and then attempt a cheeky chip over César only to see the ball land on the roof of the net. Henry out of luck Deco was replaced in the 73rd minute and received an ovation from the crowd as he made way for Giovani Dos Santos and Messi followed the Portuguese midfielder off the field soon after as Bojan Krkic was introduced. Henry was keen to find a way through and the Frenchman had three chances in the final few minutes, but on each occasion was denied by César. Although a fifth goal could not be found, Barça showed that they are back to their best and put the early season talk of problems truly behind them.