It took only two minutes for Barcelona to make their intentions known. Quick passes in midfield saw Messi pass the ball to Jordi Alba who then saw his cross connect with Arturo Vidal in the box for the opener.
The Barcelona captain was in inspired form for his side and stole the headlines as always. Messi set up Martin Braithwaite to score his first goal for the Catalan side.
Jordi Alba then wrapped it up later on before Messi grabbed a deserved goal of his own in the 93rd minute of the match.
That goal marked a special milestone for the Argentine as it saw him become the only player to score 20 or more goals in Spain’s top flight in 12 consecutive seasons.
Messi’s strong performance against Mallorca also saw his league assist tally this season rise to 14, making him both the top scorer and top assist provider in La Liga this campaign.
Five substitutes are now allowed in domestic leagues across Europe and Barcelona marked their La Liga return making four substitutions on the evening.
Luis Suarez was one of the substitutes as he came on for Barcelona in the 57th minute. The Uruguayan was making his first appearance for Barca since January and his performances pleased head coach Quique Setien.
“Everything he has done, he has done well. He had quality actions,” he said. “Surely we will see how he is improving, but he has been spectacular.”
Arthur Melo was also one of the substitutes as the Brazilian came on in the 71st minute for the Catalan side. The 23-year-old looked sharp upon coming to the pitch and made 25 touches of the ball as per Whoscored, getting a 6.7 rating for his performance.
Arthur has featured only sparingly for Barcelona in La Liga this term, making 17 appearances totaling 1025 minutes. That has seen the midfielder continuously linked with a move to Juventus this summer. Although, he has clearly stated his mind remains in Spain.
Barcelona take on Leganes in their next La Liga fixture on Tuesday and the 23-year-old is in line to start the game at the Nou Camp.
So far this season, Arthur has scored three and assisted as many for Barcelona in La Liga.
