Lionel Messi has scored four goals in Barcelona‘s first three games this year, making 2021 his second-best start to a calendar year ever according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Argentine’s brace against Granada last night complemented his brace at Athletic Club during the week, meaning that only in 2016, when he scored five by January 10th, has he started a year in better form.
Messi didn’t score against Huesca, the first game he played in 2021, but redeemed himself against Athletic and Granada, not just playing well but playing with evident joy, linking superbly with Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele and operating with a smile on his face not seen for some time.
In 2016, Barcelona’s first three fixtures were against Espanyol (once in La Liga, once in the Copa del Rey) and Granada. He scored a hat-trick against Granada then, to complement a brace in one of the games against Espanyol.