Goals galore to greet Tata

Posted Sunday, July 28, 2013 by Marca.com

Goals galore to greet Tata Leo Messi used his feet to roll out the red carpet for new coach Gerardo Martino on Saturday, grabbing two assists and a goal in the first thirteen minutes of Barcelona's friendly with Norwegian outfit Valerenga.

Watching on from the box, 'Tata' cannot have helped being impressed as the 'Azulgranas' threatened to rack up a cricket score before eventually settling for a 7-0 win. Alexis put in a fine performance, scoring once and setting up three, while Dongou (2), Tello, Dos Santos and Joan Roman were also on the scoresheet.

With Jordi Roura again in the dugout, Barça took to the pitch with the same line-up as against Bayern Munich. Leo Messi put on his Xavi cap, running the show from the middle of the park and opening up space for Alexis Sánchez and Cristian Tello to cause havoc in behind the defence.

Never needing to get out of first gear, the 'Azulgranas' carved their Norwegian opponents apart at will, conjuring up a host of chances and goals. It was a perfect opportunity to blood the youngsters, and Roura did not disappoint. Indeed, Messi, Song and Pinto were subbed off at half time, with Dongou, Samper and Oier coming on in their place, while several others were given at least a half-hour run-out.

It took until the 60th minute for the hosts to register their first shot on target. Having rung the changes and introduced some fresh legs of his own, the Valerenga coach did see some improvement in his side, but even still Barça continued to create the better chances. B-team forward Joan Roman sealed the rout with four minutes left on the clock.