Who’s afraid of the big bad Fifa virus? After a two week international hiatus, Barcelona returned to action at the Camp Nou in emphatic fashion, dispatching Racing Santander 3-0 to claim top spot in La Liga standings.

With Real Madrid’s home victory over Betis earlier in the day, Barcelona could ill afford conceding points to relegation bound Racing.

Things looked grim early on, with Racing pressuring well and taking the game to Barcelona in the opening minutes.

The excitement of seeing center-back tandem Pique and Puyol in action lasted all of 8 minutes before Pique, clutching his right thigh, motioned for the change, giving way to Eric Abidal. An elongation of the biceps femoris muscle (strained hamstring) should see him sidelined for 15 days, where he will join Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas in the infirmary.

Racing’s manager, Hector Cuper had his side pressing hard in the early goings, flooding the midfield with defenders to mitigate Barcelona’s crisp attacking game. It worked for 11 minutes.

In his first game back from injury, Iniesta did not wait long to make an impact, collecting a superb pass from Messi in the area, turning on his heels and feeding the Argentine through traffic. Messi skipped past his defender and sent Toño sprawling the wrong way, passing into an empty net. A clever finish that saw him move to second place all time in the Barcelona scoring charts, passing the legendary Laszlo Kubala with 195 goals.

With the goal went the match. A staggering 83% total possession eliminated any chance for Racing to fight their way back.

Messi nearly doubled the lead a minute later, collecting Villa’s pullback and firing from inside the area, but a deflection saw his shot miss wide.

Xavi put the Catalans up two in the 27th minute, finding himself unmarked in the area and elevating high to nod home a weighted cross from Pedro. For a man measuring a mere 5’7, goals from headers are few and far between. His celebration fit the occasion, as teammates surrounded the man from Terrassa, rubbing his head in jest.

The second half kicked off to a monologue of possession and dominance by Barcelona. In the 66th minute, Leo Messi saw another penalty appeal turned down when Alvaro Gonzalez’s trip sent him sprawling in the area. For the umpteenth time this season, his appeals fell on deaf ears and was told to play on, with visions of Sebastian and Valencia dancing through his head.

It wouldn’t matter. Shacking off frustrations, Messi found himself in the right place at the right time to kill the match, securing a brace in the 68th minute.

The architect Xavi began the action, finding partner in crime Iniesta in the area. The Spain international collected the pass, flicking the ball with his right foot past his marker to his left, then fired a shot from 12 yards out, rattling his effort off the far post. While everyone stood still, slack jawed in awe of the magical Manchego, Messi strode into the area and one-timed the rebound into the back of the net, raising his tally to a mesmerizing 196 goals in a Barcelona uniform. 3-0; game, set, match.

As for Messi’s record, such an accomplishment must be put into perspective. The type of records set in the 1950’s largely came when
the balance of La Liga was dominantly shifted in favor of a few brilliant individuals.

While true parity still may not exist in La Liga, the overall quality of its players has never been higher. Messi faces professional defenders week in, week out, at home and in Europe. These are not makeshift teams, assembled with semi-professionals on muddy pitches.

Messi sits second among Barcelona’s all-time scoring greats. Even with his diminutive stature, it seems no record looms large over
Leo. He is a throwback goal scorer to a bygone era, possessing omniscient vision and mesmerizing technical skill, playing his trade
in a modern game against the largest and fittest defenders ever seen.

Kubala scored his 194 over a 12 year period, ranging from 1950-1962. By the time he was finished, they had to build a new stadium to hold all the fans. Who’s to say Messi won’t warrant the same.

At just 24 years, it is now a question of when and not if he will reach the pinnacle set by Cesar Rodriguez at 235 goals. It could be
this very season. A feat made even more remarkable by the fact that it would surprise nobody. Such is his genius, such is the joy of
watching him play.

Article written by Barcaloco contributor Anson Woodring.  Follow Anson on Twitter at @ansonwoodring.

Full match highlights:

Leo Messi Vs Racing Santander Home by kortman88