Barça crushes Getafe with a brace from Messi and Cesc

Leo Messi marked his return with a brace against Getafe

Before last night’s match, Gerardo Martino said that Leo Messi had the look of an assassin – and he wasn’t wrong. The Argentine forward got into gear and took just 30 minutes to score his double to seal Getafe’s fate in their 4-0 win at the Camp Nou.

Thus Barça edge ever closer to the next stage of the Copa del Rey tournament. Cesc also put in a fine performance and equalled Messi’s double with a brace of his own. But before the Catalans can dream of the next Copa del Rey round, they have to travel to Madrid to meet Atlético Madrid in La Liga.

Cesc opened up the scoring with a goal after just 8 minutes. It was Pedro who provided the cross for Fabregas to find Codina’s net. Crosses then rained into Getafe’s area with balls being drilled in via Montoya and Alexis, whose frequent incursions down the flanks had Getafe on the back foot from the start.

Thanks to Getafe’s organised back four, they managed to keep the Catalans at bay and so went into the break losing by just a goal to nil. In the second half, after 63 minutes, Pedro was brought down and Cesc stepped up to convert it.

Messi then came on for Iniesta in the 18th minute of the second half. It took the Argentine about 25 minutes to mark his return and scored in the 83rd minute. Sergio Busquets found Montoya in the box who laid it off for Messi who did not disappoint, duly slotting the ball home. With Messi on the pitch, Cesc dropped back into his regular midfield role where Andrés Iniesta had been playing.

Messi showed the fans glimpses of his great self and found the net again in extra time. The Argentine received the ball in the midfield from Alex Song and sprinted toward Codina’s goal – once he took off, nothing was going to stop him. Messi is back and he showed the fans that he still has the killer instinct that has made him the world’s best footballer.