Lionel Messi reached another Barcelona landmark with
two more brilliant goals to inspire his side to victory
over Racing Santander.
The Argentinian added the finish following a slick
one-two with Andres Iniesta to move clear in second
on the Catalan club's list of all-time top goalscorers.
And he rounded off the scoring with a simple finish
after Iniesta had produced an outrageous piece of skill
and shot against a post.
Messi's two goals were his 195th and 196th in all competitions
for Barca and took him ahead of Laszlo Kubala on the
all-time list.
Xavi scored with a rare header in between times as
Barca remained one point ahead of Real Madrid at the
top of the Primera Division and winless Racing remained
in the bottom three.
Barca went ahead in the 11 minute following wonderful
interplay between Messi and Iniesta.
The Argentinian played in Iniesta down the right and
the Spaniard squeezed a perfect pass with the outside
of his foot back inside for Messi as he broke into the
area.
The 24-year-old was outnumbered by a host of green
shirts, but burst between two defenders, dummied goalkeeper
Antonio Tono and slid the ball into the empty net.
He might have added another moments later, but his
shot from David Villa's pull-back was deflected over.
The hosts did have a second in the 27th minute, though,
as Pedro made ground down the left and swung in a cross
for the unmarked Xavi to head past the helpless Tono.
Carlos Puyol somehow contrived not to make it three
when Pedro's fierce cut-back found him just a yard from
the line, but the defender did not have time to adjust
his feet and the ball bounced off him and was hacked
away.
Mamadou Kone had a rare sight of goal for Racing at
the start of the second half, but Victor Valdes clawed
away his left-footed shot.
But Barca continued to dominate possession, toying
with their visitors as they threatened to cut them open
at will.
They should have had a penalty when Messi produced
a burst of speed and scythed into the area. He looked
to be tripped, but the referee waved away his claims.
It mattered little as the hosts made it three in the
68th minute.
Even Messi would have been impressed with the way Iniesta
took his team-mate's pass with his right foot, flicked
the ball past his marker on to his left and then got
a shot away from 12 yards.
The ball came back off the far post, but Messi followed
up to knock home the rebound.
The Argentinian could have had a hat-trick soon after
only to stroke his shot wide when well placed, but it
could not distract from another glorious display.
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