Messi celebrates while Barcelona demolishes
In the absence of its magician, outstanding Lionel Messi, Fútbol Club Barcelona responded with an incontestable victory that could be dedicated to its absent leader, who followed from Barcelona the triumph with the happiness of the birth of his third son. At Barça, it seems, there is no one who can stop the ride to the title.
Leo Messi missed his fourth official match of the season and FC Barcelona responded to the alarm that his absence could produce with a solvent and quiet victory, in which it mixed an absolute brilliance in the first part with a more relaxed ride in the second. The number '10' stayed with his family celebrating the birth of his third child and could rejoice watching the game on television, that this club has solid arguments to respond to the requirement of his star being out. Barcelona passed like a hurricane through La Rosaleda and shot itself towards the title. Messi did not play and neither did Iniesta, who is still injured and working hard to reappear on Wednesday against Chelsea.
Nevertheless, this Saturday, the leader launched its candidacy to become a champion by placing on the plate a much improved collective version and that showed that beyond the head of the Argentine, the staff does have sufficient arguments. Busquets was the patron of the game, Rakitic his best partner, Paulinho recovered the solvency lost in recent weeks, Coutinho scored an exceptional goal as a climax to a very good performance and Dembélé responded to the demand with a fantastic match. All this, accompanied by the goal of Luis Suárez to break his drought against Málaga, in a superb first half, in which Barcelona not only showed its stripes as leader, but did it in crushing mode.
In front was the bottom placed in La Liga, that is true. The Málaga which does not remember its last victory and that entered the match knowing the victory of Levante in Getafe that almost condemned it to a descent. But in the same way as in Las Palmas, with Messi in the starting lineup, it completed a game to forget. Barça was best in speed, placement, combination and brilliance.
It was an exceptional first half hour for a team that already smells like a champion and that allied with the demanding speech of Valverde, who in recent days has not bothered to hide that the points, at this moment, have a providential weight. Barcelona will maintain, at least, eight points of advantage over Atlético de Madrid and, with the goal average in their favor, they can start to savor a title that it is unthinkable it could escape them.