Messi eyes scoring record

MADRID - Lionel Messi will have another chance to match or surpass Telmo Zarra's six-decade-old La Liga scoring record of 251 goals when Barcelona host promoted Eibar on Saturday.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Saturday

Levante               vs    Real Madrid                4pm

Athletic               vs    Celta de Vigo              6pm

Barcelona           vs    Eibar                            8pm

Córdoba             vs    Málaga                        10pm

Sunday

Atlético               vs    Espanyol           12pm

Deportivo           vs    Valencia CF       5pm

Elche                   vs    Sevilla                          7pm

Villarreal             vs    Almería                        9pm

Monday

Sociedad            vs    Getafe                          8:45pm

MADRID - Lionel Messi will have another chance to match or surpass Telmo Zarra’s six-decade-old La Liga scoring record of 251 goals when Barcelona host promoted Eibar on Saturday.

The Argentina captain and four-times World Player of the Year has netted 249 times in the Spanish top flight since he played his first match exactly 10 years ago on a Thursday aged 17.

Messi’s goals – he has 361 overall in 434 official games – have helped the Catalan club win 21 trophies during the past decade, including six La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns.

Widely considered one of the best players in soccer history, the 27-year-old has been showered with praises in the run up to the anniversary although his father Jorge insists his son is unaffected either by acclaim or criticism.

"There are times when there is too much praise and other moments when the criticism is excessive,” Jorge Messi said in an interview with Spanish radio on Thursday.

If Messi fails to equal or overtake Zarra’s mark on Saturday, his next chance will be in the La Liga ‘Clasico’ at Real Madrid a week later.

The match falls the day after Luis Suarez’s ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup expires and the Uruguay forward could make his official Barca debut at the Bernabeu.

 

Solid start

Barca are looking to bounce back this season after missing out on major silverware last season for the first time in six years.

They have made a solid start under new coach Luis Enrique and are two points clear of Valencia at the top of the standings after seven matches.

Messi has six goals in those seven outings and it is a measure of how high he has set the bar in recent years that his tally this term is considered a meagre one by his standards.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended Messi’s four-year reign as World Player by winning the latest award, has a jaw-dropping 13 goals in six La Liga appearances for Real and will be gunning for more when they visit Levante on Saturday.