Yesterday, Barcelona's hit man , who has been with the world best player for 4years now scored two goals within a minute,the goals were scored in the range of 89 & 90 minutes. What suprised me the most was that he was even substituted for Andres iniesta. On 72 minutes he accelerated away from one
defender on a diagonal run across the area before
succumbing to the next who ushered the ball to
safety, but moments later he was again a live wire in
the area, creating panic in the box before Alexis hit a
shot at the keeper's legs. It was a slow but sure start
and when he skipped past a healthy challenge and
then past two more opponents while looking to
create more mischief, it was clear he was back.
With nine minutes remaining he showed speed to
peel away to the left before crossing inches from
Pedro's head and it appeared that would be all we
would be getting, but that late burst showed the "look
of a killer" that boss Gerardo Martino has seen in him
since he arrived back to Spain last week, after a
month of intensive preparation to get back to full
fitness in Argentina.
When his first goal came he was in the right place at
the right time after Sergio Busquets and Martin
Montoya had found space in the Getafe area -- Messi
simply prodded the ball home to produce a relatively
happy ending. THE SECOND GOAL
his curled, left-footed
shot around the wall narrowly missed with a long-
range free kick, but with the last play of the match,
Messi burst into the area from the right in his usual
manner and slotted home to make it 4-0. All in all,
his cameo ramped up expectations for him to be
used from the start in Saturday's top-of-the-league
clash at Atletico Madrid.
There were only just short of 40,000 spectators
present for what was a late 10 p.m. kickoff on a cold
Wednesday night, but they got what they had come
for and could leave the Camp Nou 100 percent
certain that their idol was back. Now Martino must
decide whether to use him from the start in the
Vicente Calderon on Saturday. It could be a risk so
early after Messi's return, and it's not as if Martino
has not got other alternatives.
Barca's relentless passing game clicked into gear
from the start with Pedro and Alexis continuing where
they had left off with a hat trick each in the past two
league games. When Cesc Fabregas headed home a
Pedro cross from the left after just nine minutes, it
came as no surprise.
Getafe lost badly by three goals to Sevilla at the
weekend and never looked like threatening Barca. It
was clear early on that the only question was if they
were capable of keeping the score down to a
respectable level that would make next week's
second leg of any interest. Though they parked the
bus and controlled Barca quite well for much of the
first half, they must have known what was coming
later from the bench.
Within five minutes of the restart Fabregas guided a
Pedro cross inches wide just as the main man himself
trotted along the sidelines to warm up. We were
promised half an hour and eventually he entered the
field of play on 63 minutes after a long session of
stretching.
By that stage Fabregas had already had three more
shots and just as Messi was about to come on, the
former Arsenal captain converted a penalty to make
it 2-0 after Pedro had been tripped.
Sergio Roberto got 90 minutes in the middle as Xavi
was rested. In defence Marc Bartra was left out as a
precaution and Carles Puyol was given the chance for
a rare workout. Meanwhile with Victor Valdes back to
full fitness after playing on Saturday, it was the turn
of Jose Manuel Pinto to deputise again in the Cup.
He was given as easy a night as he will remember.
The one save he did have to make came on the half-
hour mark from a glancing header, and was of a
sufficient quality to remind everyone why he has
never let Barca down in the Cup or during Valdes'
recent absence.
The other good news on the night for Barca was the
reappearance of former coach Tito Vilanova, who is
battling against throat cancer, to the stadium for the
first time this season. The TV cameras focused on
Vilanova early in the game and the news quickly
spread across Spanish media as fans and pundits
alike passed on their best wishes.
Let's hope he didn't leave before the end and
witnessed Messi's final moments of magic, and more
importantly that he can finally beat the illness that
forced him to leave the club and Barca to contract
Martino in the summer.
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