Messi's brace helps Barca topple Elche
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Lionel Messi scored a goal in each half as 10-man Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Elche at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
The match marked the debut of new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, and he saw Messi fire the hosts in front in the 42nd minute.
One minute later Javier Mascherano received his marching orders when he clipped Garry Rodrigues as the Elche midfielder was through on goal, leaving Barca with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yet the Catalan side wasn't troubled by the numerical disadvantage and Munir El Haddadi doubled the lead in the opening minute of the second half before Messi added another goal in the 63rd.
Elche sat back and defended from the start and Barca nearly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when El Haddadi turned with the ball inside the penalty area and struck the crossbar from 10 yards.
Andres Iniesta was next to threaten the Elche net when he unleashed a shot from the top of the box that clattered off the crossbar and caromed to safety.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Messi finally broke the deadlock a few minutes before the break when he took a pass from Sergio Busquets and turned his way into the box before driving a low shot inside the right post.
Elche got a bit of life one minute later when Mascherano was sent off, but the visitors gave away a second goal just after the break when a deflected pass from Ivan Rakitic released El Haddadi in behind the defense, allowing him to slot his shot home past goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton.
Messi capped a strong performance for Barca in the 63rd when his attempted pass was blocked straight back to his feet. The Argentina international then hesitated to get a bit of space and he curled a well-placed shot into the bottom left corner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Celta Vigo got off the mark with a 3-1 win over Getafe behind second-half goals from Fabian Orellana and Joaquin Larrivey, Eibar won its first match in La Liga on Sunday as Javier Lara's goal was enough for a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad, while goals from Ikechukwu Uche and Denis Cheryshev lifted Villarreal to 2-0 win over Levante.