La Liga 2016/17, Barcelona 7-1 Osasuna: 5 Talking Points
Barcelona delivered a kind of performance against Osasuna that’ll send a warning to Real Madrid; the La Liga title race is far from over despite their slender lead. The Catalans emerged victorious with a scoreline of 7-1 at Camp Nou as the team ranked 20th in the league were sadly dismantled by a slightly changed Barcelona line-up.
Luis Enrique decided to give a run-in to the likes of Arda Turan, Carles Alena and Lucas Digne last night in a bid to rest some of his stars after a gruelling Clásico. Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Andre Gomes doubled Barcelona's lead going into half-time.
The lead was halved after the break as Roberto Torres scored a stunning free kick for Osasuna but Gomes soon made it 3-1. Lionel Messi and Paco Alcacer scored in quick succession to make it 5-1 before Javier Mascherano (yes, you read that right) scored from the spot. Alcacer scored his second and the seventh for his side as Osasuna were taken apart by Luis Enrique's men.
On that note, here are the five talking points from Barcelona's 7-1 thumping win over Osasuna:
#1 A homecoming for Leo
After helping beat Real Madrid on the weekend with his superlative feats, the king of Barcelona returned to Camp Nou with grandeur. Messi scored a last-minute winner in the Clásico on Sunday, which also happened to be his 500th goal for the club.
As he made his way out of the tunnel, a huge banner was waiting for him at the Camp Nou. In the 10th minute of the game, Barcelona fans took their shirts off in a bid to replicate Messi's celebration against Real Madrid.
After just two minutes, Messi delivered a knockout punch to Osasuna as he scored one hell of a goal by chipping over the goalkeeper to open the floodgates for the Catalans.
He pressed brilliantly which resulted in him getting the first goal for his side. Messi delivered in both the games after the debacle against Juventus, proving to the world he is still the best in the business.