Lionel Messi made his return to the Barcelona lineup last night after an eight and a half week lay off. Messi replaced Andres Iniesta after 64 minutes of the Copa del Rey clash with Getafe. Messi came on to a warm reception seconds after Cesc Fabergas had converted a penalty, for his second goal of the game, to put the Catalans 2-0 up.

It took a few minutes for Messi's first touch but when he eventually picked up a pass just beyond the halfway line it was greeted by a huge cheer from what was a fairly small crowd. The first twenty minutes of his comeback were low key. He made a few runs, getting past one defender before being crowded out and almost claimed an assist when he failed to control the ball in the box and the loose ball fell to Alexis Sanchez who was only able to fire his effort straight at the goalkeeper.

There was also a costless kick that he played into the danger area which a Getafe defender could only clear against Sergio Busquets and the richochet almost found it's way into the top corner.

The first twenty minutes had been anything but special but whether it was rustiness or just him readjusting to match pace, it didn't last long and like all top performers the encore was worth the wait. After 89 minutes there was a scramble in the Getafe box and the ball fell to Messi who was able to simply pass the ball into the net. It was a simple strike but it sparked him into life. Minutes later, he was brought down for a costless kick on the left side of the box. It was in a similar area to where he had took the kick from that had almost led to a goal for Busquets. It looked as though he would aim to put the ball in a similar area but instead he tried to catch the goalkeeper out by curling the ball around the wall and with the keeper scrambling across goal, the ball went just wide of the post, rippling the side netting.

He wasn't finished yet though and with just seconds remaining Alex Song found him in space on the right and it was back to vintage Messi. With one defender between him and goal Messi went for the jugular and committed the defender before drilling his shot past the goalkeeper. It wasn't the best goal he's scored in his career but it was the sort of thing we are used to seeing from him and it shouldn't be too long before he is back to his best.

Messi's return couldn't have came at a better team for Barcelona as they were able to give him some time on the field last night to blow the cobwebs away before Saturday evenings clash with Atletico Madrid. Barca and Atletico are sitting joint top in La Liga and regardless of the outcome Messi's availability only adds to what was already the most eagerly anticipated game of the Spanish season so far.

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About the author
Gerry Johnston
Cover Spanish and Italian football for VAVEL UK.