Lionel Messi scored his 300th and 301st career goals for Barcelona and extended his record-scoring run to 14 Spanish league games in a 2-1 comeback win at Granada on Saturday, four days before it visits AC Milan.
Ten-man Real Madrid slumped to a dire 0-0 draw at Osasuna in the Spanish league as coach Jose Mourinho failed to compensate for the absence of top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal will miss next month’s Australian Open because of a stomach virus, further delaying his comeback after being sidelined since June with a knee injury.
Lionel Messi polished off his record year with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Barcelona’s 3-1 win at Valladolid on Saturday, while Jose Mourinho’s decision to bench goalkeeper Iker Casillas backfired as Real Madrid lost 3-2 at Malaga to fall further off the pace.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho surprisingly benched veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas for Saturday’s game at Malaga, and the move may cost him more than just three points as little-used Adan Garrido was overwhelmed in a 3-2 loss.
Adrian Lopez scored a late winner to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Friday, as Diego Simeone’s side stayed in touch with leader Barcelona at the top of Spanish standings.
Lionel Messi scored his 22nd double of 2012 to reach 90 goals as Barcelona beat closest rival Atletico Madrid 4-1 on Sunday, opening up a nine-point lead and sitting 13 in front of Real Madrid in the Spanish league.
Lionel Messi broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86th time in 2012 on Sunday.
The Argentina forward scored twice to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 win at Real Betis in the Spanish league match.
Lionel Messi netted his eighth brace of the season and created a third goal to steer Barcelona to a 3-1 win over a feisty Real Zaragoza on Saturday as the Spanish league leaders kept alive their club-record start.
Xavi Hernandez scored three minutes from time to seal Barcelona’s hard-fought 2-0 home win over Granada on Saturday, keeping the Spanish leaders perfect through five rounds.
