Barcelona on Sunday clinched a La Liga
and Copa del Rey double for the second successive season on what turned
out to be yet another landmark night for Lionel Messi.
The Argentina international was in
inspired form against Sevilla at the Vicente Calderon, setting up goals
for Jordi Alba and Neymar in extra time as Barca ended their domestic
campaign with a record 28th King’s Cup triumph.
Those assists – his 25th and 26th of the
season – helped settle an ill-tempered encounter in the Spanish capital
which saw Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega and Daniel Carrico sent off.
The result provided the final gloss on
Barca’s recovery following a mid-season meltdown which saw them dumped
out of the Champions League and surrender their nine-point lead at the
top of the Primera Division.
It turned out to be an extra sweet night
for Messi who capped another record-breaking season by claiming his
fourth Copa del Rey winners’ medal – the 30th honour in his trophy-laden
career.
It is a campaign that will no doubt live
long in the memory for Messi who, having won an unprecedented fifth
Ballon d’Or in January, cemented his place in La Liga history when he
broke the 300-goal mark with a double against Sporting Gijon in
February.
Later that month, he scored Barcelona’s
10,000th goal in official competitions with his side’s second in their
Champions League last-16 victory over Arsenal.
Hopes of replicating Barca’s
treble-winning 2014/15 campaign, however, were dashed by defeat in the
Champions League quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid.
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