Barcelona News: Lionel Messi heaps praise on Carles Perez and Ansu Fati after thumping win over Real Betis

What's the story?

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has hailed La Masia youngsters Carles Perez and Ansu Fati for their strong performances during the Catalan giants' thumping 5-2 win over Real Betis on Sunday.

In case you didn't know...

Barcelona won their first La Liga game of the season by thrashing Real Betis 5-2 at the Camp Nou.

The Catalan giants' £107 million signing Antoine Griezmann proved his worth as he delivered two goals and an assist in the absence of Messi and Luis Suarez.

Ernesto Valverde's men found themselves a goal down early on, owing to a Nabil Fekir opener. However, Griezmann stepped up his game, following a quiet competitive debut against Athletic Bilbao and equalised shortly before half time. The Frenchman's second goal came in the form of a superb curler, which he admits to having learned from Messi in training.

Pérez, with his first senior goal for Barcelona, took the hosts' tally to three, while Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal made it 5-1 a few minutes before Loren Moron's consolation goal for Real Betis.

16-year-old Fati, who came on for Perez in the 78th minute, also made the headlines as he became the second-youngest player to feature in La Liga in the club's history, only behind Vicente Martinez.

The heart of the matter

Messi, who was watching the game from the stands, has expressed his happiness at seeing the youngsters thrive in the senior team and has praised them for their performances during the game.

In a post alongside an image of him hugging Ansu and one of Perez, the Argentine maestro wrote, "Great performance from everyone. First three points in La Liga and really happy to see our academy players achieve their dream of making the first team and scoring in a competitive game at the Camp Nou."

What's next?

Barcelona are next scheduled to face Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.