Full time: Leganes 1-5 Barcelona
Peep peep! That was an enjoyable match, full of fantastic goals and with an endearingly spiteful edge. Barcelona were too good, and have responded to the Alaves defeat by scoring 12 goals in two games. Next up is Atletico Madrid in the week. Thanks for your company; bye!
90+1 min Barcelona have a free-kick 25 yards out, a chance for Messi to complete his hat-trick. Messi clips it over the ball and just wide with Serantes well beaten.
87 min Omar Ramos is booked for a late, nasty tackle on Neymar, who was showboating in a manner that offended Leganes.
Updated
84 min There has been a spiteful edge to this second half, and now Paco Alcacer is a little fortunate not to be booked for a bad tackle on Rico.
GOAL! Leganes 1-5 Barcelona (Gabriel 80)
Ha ha ha, Leganes have done it! It’s a great free-kick from Gabriel, curled over the wall and into the right corner at considerable pace. Wonderful stuff. Just before the free-kick, Neymar was booked for a run-in with Gabriel. As Rob Palmer says on Sky, there may never have been a greater celebration for a goal that reduced the deficit to 5-1. It’s Leganes’ first La Liga goal at home, and their first against Barcelona.
Updated
79 min Gabriel is fouled 20 yards from goal, which gives Leganes another chance to get the thing they want the most: a goal against Barcelona. It looks like Gabriel will take it...
77 min Bustinza makes a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny Paco Alcacer an open goal.
74 min Neymar almost makes it six with a fine solo effort, but eventually he is bumped off the ball in the box. There were no appeals for a penalty, though it was a pretty zesty challenge.
73 min “I mean, Suarez did well enough today, and all these beautiful, delicate little passing moves are easy on the eye,” says Matt Dony. “But I bet he misses working with Andy Carroll.” And Jay Spearing’s pinpoint passes.
72 min Szymanowski lumbers forward promisingly, to within 20 yards of goal, and then he batters a rising drive into orbit.
71 min There’s still a very good atmosphere at the ground. This game doesn’t really change anything for Leganes; it is, in the parlance of our time, a freebie.
69 min Ruben Perez, who despite his best efforts has not been booked yet, flattens Rafinha near the halfway line. It won’t be long before his hard work gets its reward.
Updated
65 min Barcelona’s final substitution, with Iniesta replaced by Denis Suarez. I missed a couple of Leganes substitutions at 4-0: Machis and Unai Lopez off, Szymanowski and Omar Ramos on.
GOAL! Leganes 0-5 Barcelona (Rafinha 64)
It’s getting messy for Leganes. Rafinha comes inside from the right and curls a majestic shot into the far top corner from 20 yards as if it was the most obvious and easy thing in the world.
Updated
62 min Paco Alcacer has a goal rightly disallowed for offside. He was following up after Messi’s low shot was superbly tipped onto the posts by Serantes.
61 min All Leganes want now is a goal, and they almost get it when Gabriel beats three players on the left before hitting a rising drive from a tight angle that is beaten away by Ter Stegen.
60 min “I haven’t been following football for the last six months,” says Phil Podolsky, “so your Aaron Ramsey gag gave me a genuine startle as I vaguely remember there was some talk of his transfer to Barcelona (and they did sign Alex Song).”
Next you’ll be saying Real Madrid were linked with Thomas Gravesen.
59 min That was almost Messi’s hat-trick. He slightly miscontrolled an awkward pass from Mascherano, which took him wider than he would have liked, but he went for goal anyway and drilled a low shot that squirmed through Serantes and across the six-yard box before it was booted clear.
57 min Another Barcelona substitution: Arda Turan replaces Ivan Rakitic.
56 min Luis Suarez, his genius well and truly asserted, is replaced by Paco Alcacer. Barcelona play Atletico on Wednesday, so Messi might come off as well once he completes his hat-trick.
GOAL! Leganes 0-4 Barcelona (Messi 55 pen)
Messi drives the penalty high to his right. Serantes went the right way but couldn’t reach it.
Updated
PENALTY TO BARCELONA
54 min Suarez, on the left near the halfway line, rakes a glorious curving pass with the outside of his right foot to put Neymar clear on goal. Bustinza pulls him back and has the nerve to complain despite it being a clear penalty.
Updated
50 min Ruben Perez is penalised, though not booked, for a poor tackle on Suarez. Leganes’s vigorous approach has irritated some of the Barcelona players, though it has hardly been Goodison Park in 1964.
49 min Leganes have had twice as many shots as Barcelona: 10-5. Trouble is that most of theirs have been from distance, and most of Barcelona’s have been from six yards and into an open net.
48 min A half-chance for Leganes. Kone bursts forward, moves inside Pique and then hammers a shot too close to Ter Stegen from the edge of the box.
Messi first player ever to score in 34 Primera Division stadiums. Raul had previous best on 33 [via @pedritonumeros ] #atleastonerecordaweek
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) September 17, 2016
<Banter> None at the Britannia Stadium, though. </banter>
46 min Leganes begin the second half. They have made a half-time substitution, with Medjani being replaced by Ruben Perez.
In other news, who wants to see an 8ft 1ins sitting volleyball player?
Updated
Half-time reading (optional)
Half time: Leganes 0-3 Barcelona
Leganes did plenty of good things in that half but they couldn’t cope with the genius of Suarez and Messi. See you in 10 minutes for more of the same.
GOAL! Leganes 0-3 Barcelona (Neymar 44)
Neymar completes MSN bingo by scoring the third goal. Messi, after a brilliant piece of improvised ball-juggling, put Suarez clear on goal. He fronted up Serantes and then tapped it to the left for Neymar to walk it in.
Updated
38 min Victor Diaz is booked for pulling back Iniesta.
36 min For 35 minutes of this match, Leganes have been the equal of Barcelona. That’s the problem when you come up against genius, I suppose.
34 min Umtiti clears off the line from Machis! He skinned Mascherano on the left and hared straight towards goal. His first shot was blocked at the near post by Ter Stegen, and the follow-up hit Umtiti on the line. Machis, the Venezuelan on loan from Granada, has been superb so far.
GOAL! Leganes 0-2 Barcelona (Suarez 31)
This is another majestic goal. Messi picks up an errant pass 30 yards from goal and goes on a brilliant centre-to-left slalom. He ignores two or three attempts to foul him and then, after working a shooting position, plays a beautiful disguised pass across goal for Suarez to tap in.
Updated
30 min Sastre has a little kick at Neymar, prompting the Barcelona players to surround the referee, affronted coupons on the lot of them.
28 min Medjani is booked for a bit of the old ultraviolence on Mascherano.
27 min A nice move from Leganes. Victor Diaz crosses from the right and Gabriel gets in front of Pique at the near post to plant a stooping header towards goal. It was too close to Ter Stegen, who saved comfortably.
24 min Rakitic is booked for a cynical foul on the lively Machis.
22 min After a superb start, this is looking extremely ominous for Leganes. Suarez goes on another wonderful run, down the left this time. Eventually he is tackled by Insua, who unwittingly KevinBalls it towards his own goal, and Serantes leaps to make an excellent save.
21 min “Will Suárez dye his hair too do you think?” asks Ruth Purdue. I hope not; it’s hard enough telling Messi, Neymar and Ramsey apart.
20 min Neymar should have made it 2-0. Rafinha on the right cut the ball back to Suarez, who played a gorgeous first-time cross to Neymar at the far post. He went for an acrobatic volley, mishitting it into the ground and over the bar.
Updated
17 min Pique fouls Kone just outside the penalty area. Unai Lopez’s free-kick hits the top of the wall and deflects behind for a corner.
16 min That was so simple from Barcelona: pass, run, cross, goal. Serantes should have been closer to the near post but I’m not sure it would have mattered.
GOAL! Leganes 0-1 Barcelona (Messi 15)
This is a great goal. Messi plays a superb first-time pass down the right to Suarez, who vrooms away from Rico and delivers a precise low cross towards the near post. Messi, backing up the play, opens his body to sidefoot under Serantes.
Updated
14 min A dangerous break from Barcelona leads to their first chance. Neymar is put through on the left by Suarez and cuts it back to Messi, whose first-time shot is crucially blocked by Rico.
13 min You wouldn’t think Leganes will be able to press like this for the whole game but at the moment it is working. There’s a bit of arrogance about their play as well. Gabriel rolls his foot over the ball and then clips a flat cross towards Medjani, who loops a header a few yards over the bar.
10 min Barcelona have their first attack. Alba finds Aaron Ramsey, who tries to zig-zag between two defenders in the box and falls over. It wasn’t a dive; nor was it a penalty.
8 min Rakitic is robbed by Medjani, who moves it forward quickly to Machis. He runs across the line of the area before hitting a low shot that is well blocked by the stretching Pique. Barcelona look half asleep.
6 min The game has started to settle down a little, though Barcelona are still struggling to effect the tiki, never mind the taka.
Updated
5 min “Hi Rob, another exhibition from FCB today, fearing for the hosts,” says John McEnerney. “Those 3 up front are pretty special look like they’re playing for a laugh. This match could be a tad boring so I’m going to throw my fantasy strike force to challenge MSN into the ring. Der Bomber, Henrik ‘The King of Kings’ Larsson & Marco van Basten. All three had it all, power, style, grace, timing, killer instinct & selfless.”
I’d probably go Pele, Maradona, Leaburn.
Updated
4 min Barcelona look a little unsettled, probably by a combination of the early start and the fast start from Leganes. Almost all of the game has been played n Barcelona’s half so far, and most of in their third.
3 min A very fast start from Leganes, who have pinned Barcelona in their own third with some almost demented pressing. Tacticians, at ease: Barcelona are indeed playing a back three.
2 min “There’s an argument to be made that last week’s disastrous showing by Denis Suárez, Digne, Turan and Alcácer was simply due to them trying too hard to prove themselves the equal of the regulars they replaced,” says Charles Antaki. “Certainly they ran around a lot. But running around a lot isn’t exactly what Luis Suárez, Iniesta and Messi bring to the game.” I’m glad somebody finally raised this point: the work-rate of those lads leaves a lot to be desired!
1 min Peep peep! Barcelona kick off from left to right. They are in red-and-blue stripes; Leganes are in blue-and-white stripes.
That Leganes formation below, 3-5-2, is probably a bit generous: Spanish TV have it as a 5-4-1, with Kone alone up front. It may swiftly become a 9-0-1.
Hello? Anyone reading? Come on, together we can get through this ordeal of watching one of the all-time-great strikeforces for two hours.
The teams
Leganes (3-5-2) Serantes; Bustinza, Insua, Medjani; Victor Diaz, Unai Lopez, Sastre, Gabriel, Rico; Kone, Machis.
Substitutes: Perez, Brignoli, Alberto, Szymanowski, Mantovani, Guerrero, Omar Ramos.
Barcelona (3-4-3) Ter Stegen; Pique, Mascherano, Umtiti, Rafinha, Rakitic, Iniesta, Jordi Alba; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Substitutes: Cillessen, Denis, Arda, Paco Alcacer, Sergi Roberto, Andre Gomes, Mathieu.
Updated
Preamble
You see what happens? You see what happens, Alaves, when you beat Barcelona in the Nou Camp? Somebody else pays for it, that’s what happens. Alaves’s shock victory at the Nou Camp last weekend made Barcelona refocus to such an extent that they belted Celtic 7-0 in the week, and I’m not sure I’d want to be a Leganes defender today.
The <patronising> little club </patronising> from the outskirts of Madrid have had a fine start to their first-ever season in La Liga, with a win at Celta Vigo and a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid in their previous home game. But this is different; this is almost certain death by MSN. But Leganes’s ultra-underdog status has a bit of an upside: if Leganes win, it would be the greatest result in their history - and they would go above Barcelona in the table.
Kick off is at 12pm English time, 1pm in Leganes.
Rob will be along shortly. In the meantime, have a read of Richard Hall’s piece on how Gheorghe Hagi went from Real Madrid to Barcelona via Serie B. It’s good.
