Argentine star scored two goals in his first appearance
after an absence of 58 days
Lionel Messi entered as a substitute and scored twice in his
first game after recovering from injury, while teammate Cesc Fabregas added
similar double goals to Barcelona to crush at home Getafe 4 - zero in the first
leg knockout round of the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday.
And the audience stopped in the Nou Camp stadium to greet
Messi while he participated instead of Andres Iniesta in the 64th minute, the
first game of the best player in the world since suffered a muscle injury in
November.
Barcelona were dominant and which rested a number of key
players scoring two goals when Messi entered after Fabregas opened header
scoring the first goal in the eighth minute and added a second goal from
penalty after 63 minutes.
Messi looked in good condition during the half-hour he spent
on the pitch and his successful return represented good news for Coach Gerardo
Martino, who prepares his team to a tough face against the lead partner
Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.
The first goal for Messi came in the 89th minute when he
controlled the ball inside the penalty box and shot into the top corner from
close range.
As his second goal , he put the usual artistic touches, when
launched from the right, breaking Getafe defense before slotting the ball into
the net in a scene made audience very happy who stood cheering him in the last
game of the match.
The carnival atmosphere were
in the stadium which was filled with more than half of it with the
return of former coach Tito Villanova that is struggling to overcome the cancer
that forced him to leave office at the end of last season to watch the team
from the stands.
If Barcelona exceeded in the second leg next week in Madrid
will play in the quarter-finals with Rayo Vallecano or Levante, which meet back
on Thursday.
Barca captain Carles Puyol said in an interview with Spanish
television station Antena 3, "it is clear that Messi has not forgotten the
way he plays football."
"He has trained very well, and scored goals in his
brilliant way. Road is still long in the league, but Saturday's game is very
important against a team I think it's the best team in the world."
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