Lionel Messi scripted another La Liga record as Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win against Mallorca on return to football after an enforced three-month coronavirus pandemic break. The defending league champions faced little trouble with Arturo Vidal putting the visitors ahead as early as the second minute. Martin Braithwaite then netted his maiden goal for the club before Jordi Alba and Messi added two more to cap off a perfect start to the title defence. Messi also assisted both Braithwaite and Alba but his goal in injury-time helped him register another record. Mallorca vs Barcelona, La Liga 2019-20, Goals and Match Highlights.

The 32-year-old, who leads the goalscoring and assist charts in La Liga, has now become the only player to score 20 or more goals in Spain’s top-flight for 12 consecutive seasons. The record starts from the 2008-09 season when Messi scored 23 league goals and since then the Argentine has netted at least 20 times in each season making him the only player to do so in La Liga. Mallorca 0–4 Barcelona, La Liga 2019–20 Result: Lionel Messi on Target As League Champions Make Winning Return.

Lionel Messi's New Stellar Record

Messi was already the top goalscorer and assists maker for the current season ahead of resumption and increased the tally further with a sublime performance. His goal scoring now stands at 20 for the season whole his assists tally increased from 12 to 14 after he provided for both Braithwaite and Alba.

Top Goalscorer and Top Assist Provider

Meanwhile, the comfortable victory also helped Barcelona increase their lead over Real Madrid to five points before the Los Blancos host Eibar on Sunday. Barcelona now have 61 points from 28 matches while Real are five behind with a game in hand. Mallorca continued to be deep into relegation battle and remain in the bottom three with only 20 points.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 14, 2020 10:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).