Barcelona 7 - 1 Osasuna: Lionel Messi scores twice as Barcelona run riot against Osasuna

Posted Thursday, April 27, 2017 by PA

Barcelona blitzed Osasuna with four goals in 10 second-half minutes to temporarily move three points clear at the top of LaLiga with a 7-1 victory at the Nou Camp.

Luis Enrique rested several of his regular starters, including Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba - an understandable move following gruelling matches against Juventus and Real Madrid, and before the weekend's derby at Espanyol.

It seemed it would not matter much after Lionel Messi struck early and Andre Gomes extended the lead before half-time.

However, the decision might have been briefly questioned when Roberto Torres pulled a goal back at the start of the second half.

However, Gomes and Messi both got their second goals of the evening either side of the hour mark to put the game to bed and Paco Alcacer and Javier Mascherano, the latter from the penalty spot, quickly added gloss to the scoreline with just 67 minutes on the clock.

Alcacer became the third player to net a double with four minutes remaining.

It was an emphatic scoreline to further increase confidence on the back of Sunday's El Clasico win over Real at the Bernabeu, although Zinedine Zidane's side get the chance to respond and close the gap when they travel to Deportivo La Coruna in the late game.