Barcelona 4-1 CD Alaves: 5 players who impressed for the Catalans | LaLiga 2019-20

#4 Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona v Deportivo Alaves - La Liga

Coming into this fixture, Lionel Messi found himself in the unfamiliar position of having not scored for two consecutive matches. For many players, that is a fairly normal routine but Messi is far from normal and a two-game drought is enough to start ringing alarm bells over a supposed dip in form.

For most of the game against Alaves, the Argentine international was crowded out in the middle and struggled to influence proceedings, with Manu Garcia and Pere Pons limiting the space afforded him.

That all changed in the 69th minute when Luis Suarez set him free and despite being crowded out by no less than five blue shirts, the Barcelona skipper still found a way to dilly dally around them and place an unstoppable shot into the top corner for his 13th goal of the campaign.

There was a chance to record a brace but Messi showed great camaraderie to let Luis Suarez get on the scoresheet and despite not being at his best, the Rosario native still did enough to play a part in a routine victory for his side.