More than three months had passed since Messi's last appearance on a football field. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner will be 33 in little over a week, but while he approaches veteran status, his post-lockdown look is more of a reminder of the young Messi.
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In the La Liga 4-0 win over Mallorcaon Saturday night, Barca superstar Messi found the net to become the only player to score more than 20 goals in 12 consecutive La Liga seasons. He also notched up two assists in the thrashing that kept them top of the table.
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Barcelona defeated Mallorca with sgtrikes from Arturo Vidal, Martin Braithwaite, Jordi Alba, and Messi - who is now the top-scorer and top assist provider in the current season of La Liga.
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The hair is longer and swept over to one side, but most strikingly the Messi beard has gone, leaving the Argentine looking fresh-faced.
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Messi looked sharp with the ball at his feet after such a long time off, and scored the final goal as Barcelona moved five points clear of title rivals Real Madrid, who play on Sunday.
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uis Suarez, who benefited from the long league stoppage to recover from right knee surgery, was with the rest of Barcelona's reserve players, wearing face masks and sitting in the stands with several empty seats separating them. The Uruguay striker went on as one of five allowed substitutes. Suarez laid off for Messi to speed around two defenders and fire in his right-footed shot into the top corner to complete the commanding victory.
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In an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of matches, international television viewers were shown a feed of the match with digital ``fans'' superimposed on the vacant stands and recorded cheers similar to those used in video games played over the authentic audio track. Spanish television audiences can choose to watch the direct feed or the one with visual and sound effects. The sound effects include cheers when a team recovered a ball or had a promising attack. But they also included cheers for the goals scored by the visiting team.
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