A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea's defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half.
Philippe Coutinho's versatility makes him a great acquisition for Barcelona, coach Ernesto Valverde said on Sunday as the Brazilian made his first public appearance at the Nou Camp following his 142-million-pound ($192.57-million) move from Liverpool.
Messi was Argentina's key man in their 1-0 win.
Barcelona thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 to go top of La Liga on a dramatic night in Spain on Wednesday as Luis Enrique announced he was stepping down as the Catalan club's coach at the end of the season.
Sporting director Leonardo Araujo, back for a second stint in the role, has said the Brazilian can leave if a buyer is found.
The club could also sell other players to in order to create a new contract for Messi, who is the top scorer in La Liga this season with 13 goals.
'I'm definitely not going to change, players have to know that when they face me that I have my own way of playing and that is dribbling, scoring goals and helping my team mates'
The Argentine then lifted his shirt to reveal a red and black replica kit of his hometown club Newell's Old Boys bearing the number 10 which Maradona wore during his brief spell at the Rosario side in 1993.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp wants his players to be "angry" and guard against complacency when they entertain promoted HullCity on Saturday.
With a fifth world player of the year award safely tucked away in the trophy cabinet, Lionel Messi can set his sights on one of the next milestones in his remarkable career: reaching 500 goals for club and country. The Barcelona and Argentina forward can add to his jaw-dropping tally of 479 in 609 official games -- 430 for Barca and 49 for his national team -- in Sunday's La Liga match at home to Athletic Bilbao. The 28-year-old from Rosario, who picked up the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, is looking close to his best following a two-month injury layoff late last year and netted a hat-trick when second-placed Barca crushed Granada 4-0 at the Nou Camp last weekend in their most recent outing in Spain's top flight.
Promoted Alaves dealt champions Barcelona a shock 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp on Saturday while Cristiano Ronaldo returned from injury to help Real Madrid thrash Osasuna 5-2 and go two points clear at the top of La Liga. With Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta on the bench, Barcelona went behind to the visitors in the 39th minute before Frenchman Jeremy Mathieu equalised in the 46th. Ibai Gomez then scored the winner in the 64th.
Real Madrid will have their combative Spain centre back Sergio Ramos available for Saturday's "clasico" against Barcelona but Wales winger Gareth Bale is out, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.
A controversial Gerard Deulofeu strike sent Barcelona on their way to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Malaga on Saturday as they stretched their lead at the top of La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to an abrupt and surprising end as Real Mallorca claimed a stunning 1-0 victory at a rocking Son Moix on Saturday to climb out of the relegation zone.
'A ridiculous goal conceded from a corner will be the epitaph of this team, which repeated the mistakes of Rome'
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If Barcelona fail to secure their eighth consecutive UEFA Champions League quarter-final appearance, Lionel Messi's failed penalty at Manchester City on Tuesday could well prove their "what if" moment.
It's been a week now since Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo hobbled off the pitch after injuring his thigh against Villarreal during a La Liga match last Wednesday.
Rediff.com brings these and other big news from the sporting world, encapsulated in this photo feature...
As Barcelona prepare to welcome back Pep Guardiola to the Nou Camp for Wednesday's Champions League game against Manchester City, check out how the club has evolved since the visionary coach departed in 2012.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Cavani, 31, scored two goals in the Round of 16 win over Portugal, then limped off with a calf injury and has been fighting to get fit in time for the showdown in Nizhny Novgorod.
Betis fans bow to 'extraordinary' Messi after sublime hat-trick Lionel Messi is used to receiving adulation at the Nou Camp but on Sunday he got a rapturous reception from rival supporters for a majestic hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis. Messi opened the scoring with an unstoppable free kick then combined with devastating effect with Luis Suarez to carve Betis open and score a second goal right before halftime. The Argentine saved his best goal for last, completing a victory which took Barca 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with a spectacular first-timed chip from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Ivan Rakitic. Beaten Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez looked on in awe while the home supporters, renowned for devotion to their side, rose to their feet, bowed down to Messi and chanted his name. "Even though the opposition concedes goals to Messi they can still enjoy this unbelievable era which he has created, they enjoy it too and today they recognised that," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde. "It's significant that they gave him this ovation, it's an acknowledgement. Our rivals' supporters have to suffer him but they also appreciate him, because of the player he is. "Leo's performance was extraordinary, he got three goals but he could have got four, that shows you how good he is." Betis coach Quique Setien commended his supporters for their treatment of Messi while saying he felt honoured to work in the same era as the Argentine. "I really like the fact that our supporters showed their appreciation for a great player, today he really made us suffer," Setien said. "It's only fair and it's right to recognise this, our fans behaved in an extraordinary way and I'm very proud of them. I've seen some magnificent players do great things but no-one can match the things Messi has done over the last 12 years. "It's a privilege to have been able to start this era with him and see him in action every weekend." The five-times world player of the year moved on to 39 goals in all competitions this season with two months still left in the campaign. It was Messi's 51st career hat-trick but he could not recall receiving such applause from a rival team's fans. "I cannot remember anything like this before and I'm very grateful for the fans' reaction," Messi said. "I'm very grateful to them and happy for the victory, which was very important."
Barcelona's eight-game winning run was halted following a 2-2 draw with Valencia, Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis and a resurgent Real Madrid secured their fourth win in a row by beating Alaves 3-0.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
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Barcelona defender Dani Alves launched a foul-mouthed tirade on social media on Friday over football coverage by the Spanish press.
Major world record deals are here.
A lacklustre Barcelona squandered the chance to go top of La Liga after crashing to a shock 1-0 home defeat by Malaga on Saturday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez secured victory over nine-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga's top of the table clash, while Juventus won a 12th straight Serie A game to stay hot on the heels of leaders Napoli.
Beat Real Madrid's unbeaten run in the 1988-89 season, and thump Rayo Vallecano 5-1
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Uruguay's Edinson Cavani has always played second fiddle to his more illustrious attacking colleagues at country or club level but the long-haired marksman emerged out of those shadows with his twin strike in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
'The system is the same and we all have to contribute a bit more but it is impossible not to feel Messi's absence' 'But Neymar is also a leader for his playing style and what he brings to the team'
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Salah, 25, struck four goals in Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Watford that lifted them back into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
'We still depend on ourselves. Our margin for error has run out and we are aware of the challenge.'
The shock of the season saw Barca suffer their first league loss since going down 2-0 to Malaga on April 8, 2017, ending an incredible, record-breaking sequence that had lasted 43 games.
IMAGES from the Champions League quarter-final played between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday.
The injury list in the La Liga keeps growing as the season progresses and this time Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale are the unfortunate victims...
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