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Barcelona traveled to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez Stadium on Sunday to face Getafe at the end of the winter break.
Valverde named a strong side to face a Getafe side that had lost just 4 games in the season so far.
He went with a back four of Alba, Lenglet, Pique and Sergio Roberto and put Vidal and Arthur either side of Rakitic in the middle.
Dembele, Suarez, and Messi made up a devastating front three who were raring to start the new year on a high.
Messi started the game slowly, trying to set Dembele and Suarez free on a couple of times, however, things did not work out. He even tried a shot from outside the box, but it was straight at the goalkeeper. However, what happened next was the stuff that makes the Argentinean the best player in the world.
Following a high ball into the box, the Barcelona skipper was sandwiched between two Getafe defenders, however, Messi chose to stay on his feet. His desire, upper body strength and a burst of speed saw him race into the box, behind the ball and then there was a moment of magic.
Even under intense pressure, Messi noticed that Soria in the Getafe goal had surged ahead. The Argentinean had the audacity to nutmeg the goalkeeper, who crashed into the pressing defenders, while Messi broke free, reached out and calmly slotted the ball into the net. It was an act of pure genius from the Barcelona skipper.
Barcelona went on to extend their lead through a well-taken volley by Suarez in the 39th minute, and then Mata reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute.
That would be the final score, a 2-1 away win for Barcelona, but the game was lit up by Messi's displays of vision, as some of his passes were out of the world. The Argentinean's ability to see a pass before anyone else in the field is what makes him the best in the world and his vision left the entire watching world speechless.
Lionel Messi started the new year with a fantastic display of football, skills and goalscoring abilities that thrilled the audiences. As always, Twitter had some of the best reactions to his magical outing and here are few of the top tweets.
Some were quick to point out the stats...
... others were sarcastic people who questioned his abilities.
Few felt it was just a testament to his abilities...
... while everyone else was talking about his outstanding vision.
