Lionel Messi shrugged off a missed penalty and another injury to Neymar by scoring one goal and setting up two more to lead Barcelona to a 5-0 rout of 10-man Levante UD on Sunday as they stayed top of La Liga.
Messi set up Neymar for the 34th-minute opener, before flubbing a spot-kick in the 42nd minute after being fouled by Loukas Vyntra, who was sent off.
Barcelona did not blink, though, and two minutes later Ivan Rakitic scored his first goal for the club with a blistering strike from outside the penalty area.
Photo: EPA
Barcelona received another blow when Neymar went down with a left-ankle injury in the 50th minute, but again Messi was there to square a pass for Neymar’s replacement, Sandro Ramirez, to score in the 57th, before Pedro Rodriguez added a goal from Jordi Alba’s pass in the 64th.
Messi then capped the demolition in the 77th minute after Levante goalkeeper Jesus Fernandez spilled the ball and watched as Messi chipped it back over his head.
All told, Messi has played a direct part in nine of Barcelona’s 12 goals in their five wins across all competitions, scoring three and assisting on six more.
Photo: EPA
“Messi is one of a kind,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “He doesn’t just dribble and score goals, he also assists like he did today, and in what a spectacular fashion.”
Equally as important for Enrique’s focus on improving Barca’s defense, his team has not let in a goal this season.
Barcelona’s fourth win in as many rounds left them two points ahead of Sevilla, after they won 3-1 at Cordoba.
Neymar went down clutching his lower left leg after Pedro Lopez fell on top of him while contesting the ball. Barcelona team doctors attended to him and signaled for a substitution, even though Neymar was soon on his feet and appeared to want to go back on.
“Neymar twisted his ankle and suffered a sprain, and we substituted him as a precaution,” Enrique said. “He asked for the change, and later wanted to try and continue playing, but we had already made the decision.”
In July, Neymar fractured a vertebra in his back during the FIFA World Cup finals. He recovered in time for the start of the season, but then missed the league opener with an ankle sprain.
Levante remained in last place and without a goal scored through four games.
Elsewhere, Villarreal roared back from a two-goal deficit to rout Rayo Vallecano de Madrid 4-2, while UD Almeria hung on for a wild 2-1 win at Real Sociedad to claim their first victory of the season after having both a player and their coach sent off.
Sevilla outclassed Cordoba to remain undefeated.
Colombia striker Carlos Bacca netted two goals, opening the scoring in the eighth minute and securing Sevilla’s victory in the 88th when he converted a penalty.
Stephane M’Bia came on in the 69th minute and three minutes later added Sevilla’s second goal, before Borja Garcia scored for Cordoba in the 83rd.
Rayo looked set to romp after Gael Kakuta and Alberto Bueno scored goals in the 22nd and 29th minutes at El Madrigal, but Javier Espinosa sparked Villarreal’s comeback in the 33rd.
Villarreal dominated from there, with Ikechuwku Uche hitting the post three minutes later and testing Alvarez with a header that the goalkeeper did well to push over his bar.
Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio headed in the resulting corner to level in the 63rd minute.
Substitute forward Luciano Vietto struck in the 74th and the 87th minutes from identical counterattacks started by Jonathan dos Santos, with the ball flowing through Denis Cheryshev.
Unlike Rayo, Almeria were able to protect a lead on the road.
Almeria got their first in the 30th minute when Sociedad goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai swatted the ball off the face of teammate Alberto de la Bella and into the net.
Mauro dos Santos headed in Almeria’s second in the 51st minute.
Almeria’s Sebastian Dubarbier received his second yellow card in the 79th minute and coach Francisco Rodriguez was then ejected for protesting after Sociedad’s Chory Castro pulled a goal back in the 85th.
Ruben Pardo almost salvaged a draw for Sociedad when his free-kick came back off the post in the 89th minute.
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