Madrid: Barcelona scored their 6,000th goal in the Spanish league after another ingenious strike by Lionel Messi got their title-defence off to a winning start.
Messi cleverly sent his free kick underneath Alaves’ wall to open the scoring in the 64th minute of Barcelona’s 3-0 win at Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday. He also closed the scoring in injury time after substitute Philippe Coutinho had added to the lead in the 83rd.
Messi’s low free kick fooled Alaves’ players, who jumped to intercept an expected high shot. Goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco couldn’t get to the ball in time after it suddenly appeared underneath the barrier.
“Messi never fails to surprise you,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.
Messi, the league’s top-scorer last season, had struck the crossbar with a free kick — this time over the wall — in the first half. He also hit the post from inside the area a few minutes after his opening goal.
Messi also scored Barcelona’s 5,000th league goal back in 2009, and the Argentine provided 338 of the goals taking the total from 5,000 to 6,000.
Barcelona’s first-ever league goal was scored by Manuel Parera against Racing Santander on February 12, 1929.
Barcelona opened their league campaign with a win for the 10th straight season.
Messi’s second goal came in the second minute of injury time, an easy shot from close range after a breakaway.
Barcelona had missed chance after chance in its league debut at Camp Nou, which was far from packed with around 52,000 fans for the 10.15pm start local time.
Ousmane Dembele, who started upfront with Messi and Luis Suarez, squandered a series of chances, including a one-on-one with goalkeeper Pacheco in the first half.
Valverde brought Coutinho off the bench in the second half and the Brazil playmaker added the team’s second goal after a nice play that culminated with an easy strike from inside the area.
Alaves had stunned Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2016, winning 2-1.
Villarreal entered the new season with high hopes after a solid fifth-place finish in 2017-18, but their disappointing home opener dampened fans’ expectations.
Villarreal couldn’t hold on to an early lead at their Ceramica Stadium, losing 2-1 to Real Sociedad.
Gerard Moreno, Villarreal’s biggest off-season signing, put the hosts ahead in the 16th before Sociedad came back with goals by Willian Jose in the 40th and Juanmi in the 71st.
