MADRID: Lionel Messi is back in form and Barcelona are finding their feet after a 4-0 demolition of Granada on Saturday put them within four points of the top of La Liga. An emphatic victory puts Barca in sight of league leaders Atletico Madrid but Diego Simeone's side remain first after Real Madrid were held to a goalless draw by Osasuna.
It was a chance missed for Real after Atletico's match at home to Athletic Bilbao earlier on Saturday had been postponed due to the snowstorm that has engulfed Spain this weekend.
Atleti are now a point ahead of Real Madrid and four clear of Barcelona, with three games in hand over both.
Messi scored twice to make it four goals in three matches for him since the turn of the year and his resurgence has coincided with an upturn for the team too, this victory Barca's third on the bounce. "We are calmer," said Barca coach Ronald Koeman. "We have to stay humble, to keep working and winning."
Messi's double, the second a sweetly-struck free-kick, came between two strikes from Antoine Griezmann, who is also enjoying a revival after a disappointing 18 months at Camp Nou. Some had wondered if Messi would ever get back to his best following an underwhelming start to the season but his latest contribution makes him the league's top scorer on 11 goals, five months after he tried to leave.
"From day one, my interactions with Leo have been good," said Koeman. "We're used to this, if there are a couple of games where he doesn't score, there will be a couple of people who will be unhappy, but not me, never."
Koeman deserves credit for the rejuvenation of players like Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong, all of whom have improved significantly in recent matches. Barcelona's recovery has a long way to run, with unresolved issues on and off the pitch likely to resurface before the end of the season. Yet Koeman will hope a corner has been turned and at a good time, with the Champions League last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain to come next month and a large chunk of the league calendar still remaining. Barca's first goal was fortunate, after Roberto Soldado's lashed clearance saw the ball sliced backwards to Griezmann, who touched and shot past Rui Silva.
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