Messi makes his mark

Barcelona left behind the great disappointment of last Thursday, after losing all chance of defending the Liga title, and took advantage of the lack of tension from an opponent who had completed their duties to achieve a thrashing and boost their self-esteem.

In a very hot match, with a temperature exceeding 30 degrees, Barcelona inflicted a severe punishment on a lackluster Alaves side in this final stretch of the league.

Setién's team put on a display in the first half, hitting the woodwork three times and scoring three goals.

In the second half, they slowed down the pace but rounded off their thrashing with two more goals, one from Nelson Semedo and two from Leo Messi.

In the 3rd minute, Riqui Puig came close to scoring his first goal for Barcelona after receiving a good pass from Ansu Fati from the left and unleashing a powerful shot that hit the crossbar.

The Catalan team dominated against an imprecise Basque side in attack when, in the 8th minute, Messi arrived alone in the area to receive a fantastic ball from Sergio Roberto in a move that the Argentine initiated.

The Barcelona team continued to insist and in the 12th minute, Riqui Puig assisted Arturo Vidal who, for the second time, hit the crossbar with a powerful shot with his right foot.

In the 15th minute, the great Leo Messi came into action and, after a feint, he skillfully struck the ball with his left foot, hitting the woodwork for the third time.

Barcelona's persistence paid off in the 23rd minute, when Messi assisted Ansu Fati from the right for the forward to beat Roberto Jimenez at ease, arriving from behind and ahead of the very slow Alaves defense.

The Alaves goalkeeper saved his team in the 27th minute when Luis Suarez took advantage of a great through pass from Riqui Puig to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, who was ready to deflect his shot.

Alaves failed to get into the game and, just after the hydration break, Leo Messi took advantage of a great assist from Riqui Puig, lethal in his passing, to score after two feints.

Barcelona's exhibition continued and in the 43rd minute, the Alaves goalkeeper saved his team again by diverting a header from Arturo Vidal, who flicked the ball from a Messi cross, for a corner.

Prior to that, Alaves had the only clear chance of danger in their sad first half, but Lucas Perez failed to reach Joselu's pass in a move initiated by Oliver Burke, who connected with the Alaves striker.

Lopez Muniz made three substitutions at halftime, replacing Laguardia, Burke, and Lucas Perez with Tachi, Pere Pons, and Luis Rioja.

In the 47th minute, Pere Pons, alone in the area, failed to score from an outstanding position after a good pass from Joselu, while Lenglet got injured minutes later.

In the 57th minute, in a quick transition, Riqui Puig assisted Nelson Semedo, who had just come on, for him to shoot past Roberto and establish the 0-4.

The omnipresent Barcelona team slowed down the pace until, in the 75th minute, Jordi Alba assisted Leo Messi to score the 0-5.

With this goal, the Rosario native completed a fantastic match, reaching 25 goals and breaking the record for assists in the history of the league with his 21st assist to Ansu Fati in the 0-1 goal.

With the game already decided, Joselu had the best chance for Alaves, heading a cross from Adrian Marin, but his header missed the post with Neto halfway out and beaten.

In addition, before the end, Martin Aguirregabiria injured his knee and, having made all the substitutions, Alaves was left with ten men.

-- Match details:

0 - Alaves: Roberto; Martin Aguirregabiria, Laguardia (Tachi, min.46), Magallán, Adrián Marín; Edgar Méndez, Camarasa (Abdallahi Mahmoud, m.65), Manu (Ljubo Fejsa, m.59), Oliver Burke (Pere Pons, min.46); Joselu and Lucas Pérez (Luis Rioja, min.46).

5 - Barcelona: Neto; Sergi Roberto, Ronald Araujo, Lenglet (Nelson Semedo, min.50), Jordi Alba; Riqui Puig, Busquets (Frenkie de Jong, m.59), Arturo Vidal; Ansu Fati (Braithwaite, m.77), Luis Suárez, and Leo Messi. Goals: 0-1, min.23: Ansu Fati. 0-2, min.33: Messi. 0-3, min.43: Luis Suárez. 0-4, min.57: Semedo; 0-5, min.75: Messi

Referee: Martínez Munuera (Valencian Committee). No cards. Incidents: Match corresponding to the thirty-eighth and final matchday of LaLiga Santander played at Mendizorroza with no spectators.