Lionel Messi Scores twice as Barcelona ease past Levante at Home

Barcelona kept their place at the top of the Primera Division and maintained their 100 percent start to the season by beating Levante 4-1 at the Nou Camp.

The visitors managed to keep the Spanish champions at bay until half-time, but Marc Bartra soon broke the deadlock before a double from Lionel Messi and a goal from Neymar increased Barca's advantage, while Victor Casadesus netted a consolation for Levante.

Luis Enrique rotated his side following the 1-1 draw with Roma and with a difficult trip to Celta Vigo coming up in three days' time. Sergi Roberto, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez all dropped to the bench, while Munir El Haddadi, Sandro Ramirez and Marc Bartra came in, and Dani Alves returned after spending a month out injured.

Although Barcelona predictably dominated possession throughout the game, they struggled to break Levante down in the opening 45 minutes. Neymar flashed a shot wide of the far post after being played in by Messi, and the Argentinian was then denied by a double save from Ruben Martinez.

The goalkeeper kept out another shot from Messi later in the half, and to his relief Sandro blasted the loose ball into the side netting. There were also a couple of scares for the hosts, who found themselves caught on the break on two separate occasions, but they were grateful for the wayward finishing of Levante forward Nabil Ghilas and midfielder Verza.

Barca finally took the lead on 50 minutes through the unlikely figure of Bartra, who controlled a curling pass from Messi with his chest before tucking the ball in at the near post. Levante's resistance had finally been breached, and six minutes later Barca struck again, this time Neymar getting on the end of a ball from the right-hand side from Alves, and striking the ball beyond three Levante defenders at the second time of asking.

Messi had been playing a deeper role in the game than usual but was able to get on the scoresheet via the penalty spot after Neymar was tripped by Angel Trujillo. Casadesus made the most of some sloppy goalkeeping from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to pull one back for Levante but the visitors then conceded another penalty when Zouhair Feddal tugged Messi's shirt in the area.

This time the Argentinian sent the ball flying into the stands behind the goal, missing his second penalty of the season. However, he made amends in the last minute with a trademark run through the defence and a low, driven, left-footed shot into the bottom corner [Source : ESPN FC].

Messi Dedicates "Winning Goal" to Newborn Son in Barca win at Atletico

Lionel Messi returned to Barcelona from international duty with Argentina this week and skipped the club's only training session on Thursday to attend the birth of his son Mateo. But even the world's best player doesn't go straight back into the starting XI without training.

So when Barça kicked off Saturday's big La Liga showdown at Atletico Madrid, Messi began the game watching from the bench. Judging by Messi's expression, he wasn't thrilled.

But Little Leo came on as a substitute in the 60th minute and, as has been the case for most of his encounters with Atletico Madrid, he scored – the 20th goal of his career against Atleti – finishing a nifty combination play in the 77th minute to cap Barcelona's comeback for a 2-1 victory.

Messi marked the occasion by doing the requisite thumb-sucking celebration to honor his baby boy. Remarkably, he entered the day having gone goalless in his first two La Liga matches like his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo took care of his "goal drought" in impressive fashion with a five-goal explosion in a 6-0 destruction of Espanyol.

Overshadowed by Messi's heroics was the brilliant free kick by Neymar that brought Barcelona level at 1-1. Four minutes after Fernando Torres gave Atleti the lead, the Brazilian produced this thing of beauty [Source : Yahoo Sport].

Barcelona lose Spanish Super Cup to Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao won a first trophy in 31 years as a 1-1 draw with Barcelona at the Nou Camp secured the Spanish Super Cup with a 5-1 aggregate victory. Bilbao won the first leg 4-0 but Barcelona threatened a comeback with Lionel Messi's close-range finish. Barca defender Gerard Pique was sent-off after the break and Aritz Aduriz struck late on to seal it for Bilbao.

The visitors had Kike Sola sent-off late on, but the celebrations for Bilbao had already begun. It was ultimately a disappointing display for Barcelona who, despite plenty of possession, failed to threaten often enough. After Barcelona's humiliating defeat in the first leg, Athletic Bilbao knew Luis Enrique's side would be determined to make amends.

The reigning European champions lined up with Messi, Luis Suarez and Pedro in attack but the visitors had done their homework and the trio were well marshalled throughout. Whenever Messi had the ball, at least two players crowded round the Argentina international and his inability to get into the game left Suarez isolated.

Enrique heads into the new season with some concerns at the back. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was named on the bench after conceding eight goals in his last two games, with Chile international Claudio Bravo starting in his place.

Barcelona's attacking intent often left them exposed at the back, and any hopes of getting the goals they needed ended when Pique was needlessly sent-off midway through the second half. The defender angrily remonstrated with the linesman and the referee produced a straight red.

After a brief spell of Barca dominance, Jeremy Mathieu gifted possession to Aduriz, leaving the forward one-on-one with Bravo and, after his initial effort was saved, Aduriz side-footed home the rebound to put the game beyond Barcelona [BBC Sport].

Neymar: Playing Alongside Lionel Messi Has Made me Better

Barcelona forward Neymar claims playing alongside Lionel Messi has helped improve as a footballer. Brazilian Neymar has claimed 22 goals in all competitions this season, already nine more than his total haul last term. Barca’s new attacking triumvirate of Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez is really starting to show signs of promise, the trio scoring combined 59 goals for the club in all competitions so far.

They may play for rival South American countries but Neymar admitted to idolising the Argentine, admitting playing alongside Messi has enhanced his own game. “When you play next to Messi, everything is going to be easy, because I am playing with one of my idols,” he said. “It’s very easy to play with Messi. It’s very easy to play with a big star like him.”

Speaking in Doha yesterday at the launch of a second TV advert celebrating the partnership between Barcelona and principal shirt sponsors Qatar Airways, Neymar also revealed he doesn’t feel any stress playing for the Blaugrana or Brazil. Neymar is idolised in his homeland and an entire nation pinned their hopes of World Cup glory on the young frontman’s shoulders when it hosted the 2014 tournament.

Despite the expectations, and playing for one of the biggest club sides in the world, Neymar says he feels no pressure when he steps onto the field. “There is no stress, any kind of stress playing for either Barcelona or the Brazilian national team,” he said. “It’s an honour and I’m very proud to play for both of the teams.”

Neymar appeared alongside Gerard Pique at the Four Seasons hotel in Doha as the airline jointly revealed an exclusive 60-second preview of the new commercial which will air worldwide from next week. In the ad, Neymar, Pique, Messi, Suarez and Andres Iniesta visit a number of destinations within the airline’s global network, including the Maldives, Dallas, Paris and Seoul [Sport 360].