Lionel Messi scored a fine goal in Barcelona’s win over Getafe in La Liga today in what was a slightly tense atmosphere at the Nou Camp. Barca were thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool in midweek to exit the Champions League at the semi-final stage, and some of their players were booed on the pitch today. Still, Messi was able to shrug it off and get on the score sheet once again, with the Argentine now on 49 goals for the season in all competitions, with two more games to go for the club this term. The Argentine has played a starring role in Barcelona winning La Liga once again, while he’ll also hope to add the Copa del Rey to his trophy cabinet. That said, many will question Messi’s true long-term greatness if he cannot deliver another Champions League trophy before he hangs up his boots.<doc-sep>Barcelona record a 2-0 win over Getafe on the penultimate matchday of the 2018-19 La Liga campaign. Arturo Vidal and Lionel Messi scored the goals as Barcelona recorded a 2-0 win over Getafe on the penultimate matchday of the 2018-19 La Liga campaign. Barca have already been confirmed as Spanish champions, but Getafe are chasing fourth position, and the defeat at Camp Nou - coupled with a win for Valencia - has seen the capital outfit drop into fifth spot ahead of Week 38. © Reuters The absence of Luis Suarez following a knee operation meant that Messi went through the middle, with Malcom and Philippe Coutinho selected in the wide positions. Getafe were without two key players in the shape of Jaime Mata and Bruno Gonzalez through suspension, but the away side made a positive start to the contest. El Geta had a wonderful chance to take the lead in the 11th minute when Jorge Molina found all sorts of space inside the Barca box, but the experienced forward somehow missed the goal occupied by Jasper Cillessen, who started with Marc-Andre ter Stegen named on the bench. Jordi Alba was almost freed inside the Getafe box in the 21st minute as Barca looked to make the breakthrough, but David Soria vacated his goal to clear as the score stayed level at Camp Nou. Getafe thought that they had taken the lead in the 26th minute when Molina raced through and found the bottom corner with a super finish, but the striker was just offside, and that was confirmed following a VAR review. Molina then missed the post with a curling effort in the 29th minute during a very strong period for the visitors, who were looking the more threatening in the final third of the field. Ivan Rakitic twice had attempts in the period that followed, but the Croatian's first effort was wide of the post before Soria made a smart save to his left. Barca found the opening goal in 39th minute, though, when Vidal converted from close range after Gerard Pique had seen his header from a Messi free kick saved by Soria. Angel swept wide of Cillessen's post as Getafe looked to answer back late in the half, before Soria had to make a brilliant save to keep out a powerful Malcom effort down the other end of the field. © Reuters Barca started the second half on the front foot, and Vidal turned a deep Coutinho cross just wide of the post in the 53rd minute with the home side looking to double their advantage. Francisco Portillo had been introduced for Getafe at the interval, but there is no question that the visitors were missing their leading scorer Mata, who was unavailable through suspension. Soria did well to keep out a chipped effort from Messi in the 55th minute, before the Getafe goalkeeper made an even better stop to prevent Malcom from smashing home from close range in the 58th minute. Wonderful defending from Leandro Cabrera then prevented Messi finding the back of the net in the 65th minute, with the centre-back somehow sprinting back to clear the attacker's effort off the line. Getafe struggled to carve out chances in the second period, but Angel had a goal-bound strike deflected behind in the 71st minute, before the forward headed over the Barca crossbar 15 minutes from time. The fact that El Geta had to commit players forward in search of a leveller meant that there was space for Barca down the other end, but a couple of crosses bounced off Messi inside the box. Soria made two smart saves from Abel Ruiz and Messi late on, before Molina passed up an incredible chance for Getafe to level - heading against the post from close range. As it transpired, Barca were to score a second late on, with Messi converting from close range after a clever pass from Sergi Roberto had released the Argentine into a dangerous position. Barca will finish their La Liga season at Eibar next weekend, before facing Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on May 24. Getafe, meanwhile, will be looking to snatch back fourth when they host Villarreal. BARCELONA (4-3-3): Cillessen; Roberto, Umtiti, Pique, Alba; Rakitic (Alena 62'), Busquets, Vidal; Coutinho (Ruiz 68'), Messi, Malcom (Semedo 78') GETAFE (4-4-2): Soria; Damian, Djene, Cabrera, Olivera; Foulquier (Saiz 75'), Maksimovic, Arambarri, Shibasaki (Portillo 46'); Molina, Angel (Duro 86')<doc-sep>JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images Barcelona bagged another win in La Liga on Sunday and struck a cruel blow to Getafe's bid for a top-four finish in the process. Arturo Vidal opened the scoring, and Lionel Messi forced an own goal in the 2-0 win. The Blaugrana were far from their best and didn't create many chances, but Vidal was on point to power home a rebound after 39 minutes. Getafe had enjoyed the better chances up until that point, but didn't threaten Jasper Cillessen much after the break. Messi had several good looks on goal and did enough to force Djene Dakonam into an own goal with minutes to spare. The Catalans have already secured the title, while Getafe are fighting for a UEFA Champions League ticket in what has been an unbelievable Cinderella story. Sunday's loss and Valencia's win over Deportivo Alaves means they now have to better Los Che's result on the final matchday, however, as they're tied on points and Valencia have the tiebreaker. Coutinho Is Finished at Barca Videos you might like Barcelona fans sent out several strong messages on Sunday, and most of them were not of the positive kind. For starters, the club's faithful didn't show up in numbers for this contest: They also jeered the side as they came on the pitch, reserving the loudest boos for two men: Ernesto Valverde and Philippe Coutinho. Sports writer Samuel Marsden noted the jeers for the Brazilian started as soon as he touched the ball: Coutinho didn't have a bad outing, creating a handful of chances, but he wasn't a standout, either. There was nothing he could do to stop the noises from the supporters, and his outing came to a premature end when he picked up a knock in the second half. Little has gone right for Coutinho since moving to the Camp Nou in 2018, and according to AS (h/t Football Espana), he's one of the players Barcelona are hoping to move this summer. Per the Guardian (h/t Marca), selling him now would be preferred, before he has the chance to trigger an appearance-clause that would require the club to pay Liverpool an additional €25 million. It's time for the Catalans to cut their losses. The 26-year-old has not been a good fit for the club's style of play, and he has fallen behind Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order. The France international missed Sunday's contest, but when available, he has proved a far more effective partner for Messi. The Blaugrana won't recoup the €120 million they have already spent, per Marca, but Coutinho's success at Liverpool and with the Brazilian national team will ensure someone takes a chance on him. A fresh start might see the return of the old playmaker, and perhaps Barcelona can add performance-related clauses into the sale to incentivise clubs. But the fans at the camp Nou have soured on Coutinho, and that has had an impact on the squad. Messi spoke out after the fans jeered him in the 3-0 win over Liverpool, per Jordan Seward of MailOnline, and the forward doesn't need those kinds of distractions. It's better to remove such distractions altogether and call an end to Coutinho's time at the club. What's Next? La Liga wraps up on Saturday, when Barcelona visit Eibar and Getafe host Villarreal.<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League in the week, surrendering a 3-0 first-leg semi-final lead. Fans were furious with the Tuesday result and reportedly clashed with Messi in Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport after the game. The fury among the Nou Camp faithful was expected to have calmed by the time of the side’s La Liga fixture against Getafe this afternoon, but that did not prove to be the case. The away side gave Barcelona, who won the league title two weeks ago, a guard of honour as they came onto the pitch.<doc-sep>
Lionel Messi and Sergi Roberto linked up brilliantly well in the second half as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-0 at the Camp Nou. The Barça captain picked up the ball near the edge of the box and found himself surrounded by five Getafe players, but he still found a way to pass the ball into the path of the 27-year-old Spanish full-back before he darted into the box, only for Mauro Arambarri to put the ball into the back of his side's net. Loading… The Spanish club's stinging defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals must have been lingering on the mind of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, especially as he refused to celebrate Barcelona's second. Advert 10 Check it out below. ' GOAL! ' Lovely link up play from Sergi Roberto and Lionel Messi to finish the game :clap:#LaLiga pic.twitter.com/21LBvcJAjN - Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) 12 May 2019 The La Liga champions have already won their domestic title this season, but they could win another trophy when they take on Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on 25th May. Despite being knocked out of the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain star Dani Alves came out to say that the Argentina captain, who broke down in tears after the Liverpool defeat, is "untouchable" in football. Advert 10 "I still think the one untouchable person in football is Leo [Messi] because of what he brings to the game," he told ESPN. "Even if things don't turn out well, Leo's always fine. But this is a team sport and everyone has his responsibility. "Cristiano [Ronaldo], Leo and Neymar get the cover when things go well for their teams, but they also have to be on the cover when things don't go well." Credit: PA Advert 10 While Barcelona are expected to reinforce their squad in the summer transfer window, the 36-year-old former Barça right-back offered his two cents on the investment made on buying players rather than developing from the club's famed La Masia youth academy. "When I see stories about how Barça are now buying players to market them, you can sense that they are changing their philosophy a bit," he explained. "Barça were about developing players. "They didn't change their style, they signed players for specific positions. Now the feeling is they make too many moves on the market. But I also think that criticism is opportunistic. Advert 10 "It's easy to lecture after elimination. You know Barça still like to take care of the ball and make good passes. It doesn't matter who comes in or who leaves, that's their identity." Which players should Barcelona sign in the summer?