A brace of goals from Leo Messi and one from Xavi gave Barcelona FC a win over Racing at the Camp Nou. With Iniesta back in the team and on form, this win assured that Barcelona stay top of the league table with Real Madrid just one point behind after beating Betis 4-1 with a hat-trick by Gonzalo Higuaín.
There were no signs of tiredness from the international games as Barcelona FC cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Racing Santander to hold onto top position in La Liga. They stayed true to their usual system, despite having nine of the starting players on international duty this week.
Messi stole the show yet again, scoring the first and third goals of the game, with Xavi adding another in between as the Catalan team dominated the Cantabrians from beginning to end. The performance was a boost in confidence before two important games at the Camp Nou against Viktoria Plze? and Sevilla.
For the first time this season, Busquets and Mascherano were left on the bench by Pep Guardiola. Puyol and Piqué started in the centre of defence, with Piqué retiring injured shortly after kickoff.
The football flowed as usual and gracefully as ever, with no sign whatsoever of weariness among the Barca internationals. The first goal came after a majestic combination move involving Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi. The little Argentine, with only four touches of the ball, left Bernardo and Toño for dead before finding the back of the net with a lovely strike.
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The first half was literally pillaging and plundering of the Racing Santander goal. It was only a matter of time before the Catalans scored again, and that happened on the half hour, when Xavi headed home a cross from Pedro on the left. David Villa and Carles Puyol both had chances to extend the lead against Racing, but their quick-paced style only served to play into the hands of the home side.
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Not much changed after the break and Barca continued to dominate possession and generate many goal opportunities. The pace may have dropped off a tad, but it was still ideal for the leaders, who appreciated this drop in intensity due to possible fatigue after having travelled so much over the last week. However, Barca were not done yet with scoring and it was Andrés Iniesta who went off on a great run only to hit the post where Leo Messi was ready to do the honours and blast the ball into the back of the net.
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