FC Barcelona Best CLUB

Lionel Messi scored his 22nd double of 2012 to reach 90 goals as Barcelona beat closest rival Atletico Madrid 4-1 on Sunday, opening up a nine-point lead and sitting 13 in front of Real Madrid in the Spanish league.
It was Barcelona's league-record 15th victory in 16 rounds and came just after floundering Madrid had conceded in the final minutes to draw 2-2 at home with crosstown rival Espanyol.
Atletico striker Radamel Falcao was brilliant early and opened the scoring in the 31st minute. But Adriano sparked Barcelona's resurgence five minutes later with an unstoppable long-range strike, and Sergio Busquets made it 2-1 before halftime.

LA LIGA RESULTS

 

Saturday, December 15
Home		Road
Getafe	1-1	Osasuna
Mallorca	0-1	Bilbao
Granada	0-0	Sociedad
Sevilla	0-2	Malaga
Sunday, December 16
Zaragoza	0-1	Levante
Valencia	0-1	Vallecano
Real Madrid	2-2	Espanyol
Barcleona	4-1	Atletico
Monday, December 10
Deportivo	0-0	Valladolid
Celta	0-1	Real Betis
More: Scores | Stats | La Liga

 

Messi put the result beyond doubt in the 57th and had the final word in the 88th minute to prolong his incredible year.
The game at Camp Nou stadium had been billed as a showdown between Messi and Falcao, the league's top two scorers. And it didn't disappoint as both stars took exquisite goals in addition to Adriano's screamer.
Messi now has 25 goals in the league this season. Falcao is next with 17.
Atletico showed more fight and created more chances in the first half hour than it had in 90 minutes in its painful loss at Madrid two rounds beforehand.
Falcao ran rampant and had come close twice before deservedly breaking through when Diego Costa stole the ball from Messi and played Falcao clear to float a delicate lob over goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
But Adriano snapped Barcelona out of its doldrums with a vicious left-footed strike from outside the area that curled off the underside of the crossbar for his fifth goal this season.
The game then swung in Barcelona's favor, with Busquets scoring when the ball fell to him from a corner in first-half added time.
Messi's first goal was like so many he has scored in his stellar career. He took Alexis Sanchez's pass, went by Juanfran Torres with a burst of speed to place the ball on his left foot before unleashing a low shot just inside the left upright.
The Argentina forward finished the scoring in the 88th when he stole Diego Godin's attempt at a back-heeled pass inside his own area and knocked it in for his 14th double of the season. He has scored two goals in each of his past eight starts.
Messi passed German great Gerd Mueller's 40-year-old milestone of 85 goals in one year last weekend.