One of the toughest outings in every season for Barcelona is the one where they have to visit Athletic, and this time, Lionel Messi and Co. passed that test in flying colors with the Argentine taking center-stage.
The Blaugrana side came from behind to take all the points back home with an impressive performance by both Messi and Pedri, who scored two goals for Barcelona in the first half of the game. In fact, Messi's first goal of the evening came after a cheeky backheel flick by the Catalan youngster, and things were a bit easier for Koeman's men since then.
During the second half, Messi found the back of the net once more, and that goal in itself gave "La Pulga" a chance to make history once again, as these stats by Opta indicate.
2 - Lionel Messi has become the first @FCBarcelona player to score a brace at the new San Mamés in @LaLigaEN – the previous player to score two goals in a LaLiga away game for the club against Athletic Club was Javier Saviola in April 2002 at the old San Mamés. Sanctified. pic.twitter.com/gaS429I0xw
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 6, 2021
Moreover, Messi managed to score a brace at this stadium for the first time in 15 previous visits. He took his time to do so, but it paid off quite well for Los Culés.
