FC Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the league to three points with a marvelous 6-1 thrashing of Zaragoza. It was quite a night with Keita scoring a hat-trick. Not many times you will see Keita outscoring the likes of Messi and Ibrahmovic. There were serious doubts about Barca's form, but the players put them into rest with a sensational display. Apart from Keita's hat-trick, Ibrahmovic scored a brace and Messi added one to complete Barca's tally. Lopez was the one who got the consolation goal for Real zaragoza. Guardiola had Puyol, Pique, Chygrynskiy and Maxwell in the defense infront of Valdes. The midfield was formed by Keita, Busquets and Xavi. Iniesta, Ibrahmovic and Messi formed the attacking trio.
Barca were looking to attack from the word go but the early attacks did not result in clear cut chances. In the 2nd minute Messi forced a save from Carrizo, the Zaragoza custodian. And it was clear from that moment that he was going to have some tough time ahead. In the 12th minute Ibrahmovic heads down the ball for Messi in the box, but Carrizo again denied him. In the 22nd minute Ibrahmovic forces a save from Carrizo after some great work. In the 25th minute Barca went deservingly ahead from a Keita header from a Messi cross. In the 29th minute Barca doubled the tally with a good free kick from Ibrahmovic. Iniesta was brought down and Irahmovic took the resulting kick. In the 33rd minute Xavi saw his free kick going agaonisingly close in scoring a goal. Anyway Barca made the tally 3-0 in the 42nd minute with Keita's second goal of the night. Ibrahmovic was the provide this time.Barca showed no let-up in intensity after the break. That was something missing this season. Ibrahmovic made the tally 4-0 from a Keita pass after some great play by Iniesta on the left in the 56th minute. Zaragoza managed to pull one goal back in the 78th minute. Valdes saved the
initial shot from Ewerthon but was unable to stop Jorge Lopez. Barca responded immediately. Messi finally got into score sheet in the 81st minute. Iniesta set in a busrting run into the centre and played the ball to Messi who made no mistake. In the 86th minute Barca completed the tally with Keita securing his first Barca Hat-trick. Keita headed home from an Iniesta corner.This was the perfect response one can hope from the team after the recent set-backs. Every player played their part well. The special mentioning has to be Keita, Messi, ibra and Iniesta. Messi was back to his best and it is good to see Iniesta getting back to his true form.