Barcelona have produced a sterling display to demolish Getafe 6-0 in their La Liga clash at Camp Nou as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both bagged braces.
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The hosts were quickest off the starting blocks as Dani Alves was responsible for two efforts in the first six minutes of the match.
Barca were then awarded a penalty in the eighth minute when Suarez was sent tumbling by Alvaro Arroyo on the edge of the Getafe box.
Messi stepped up to the spot, feigned the shot to the left and cheekily chipped the ball straight down the middle and into the net to give the Blaugrana an early lead.
Despite being under siege, Getafe came within a whisker of netting the equaliser just after the quarter-hour mark when Fredy Hinestroza made the most of a bouncing ball to attempt a lob over Claudio Bravo, who was off his line.
Luckily for Barca, the Chilean keeper was able to backtrack and scramble the audacious effort over his crossbar to get his side out of jail.
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The visitors would come to rue that missed opportunity because Luis Enrique's charges soon stepped it up a gear and doubled their lead in the 25th minute, Suarez meeting Messi's ball over the Getafe defence with a volley into the top corner.
Barca then notched up a third goal just three minutes later when Neymar cut inside after collecting Suarez's pass before beating the defender and drilling a neat finish into the corner.
The rampant hosts weren't done yet, as just a further two minutes elapsed before Xavi nonchalantly curled a shot into the top corner from 20 yards out to leave Getafe shellshocked.
Barca could have been forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal at this stage, but they continued to press forward in a bid to rack up more goals, and duly added a fifth five minutes before the break.
Messi charged through the Getafe defence before passing in to Xavi, who flicked the ball behind him to Suarez, and the Uruguayan curled into the far corner.
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Getafe conceded a sixth less than two minutes after the restart, Messi dribbling into the right-hand side of the Getafe box before curling into the far top corner.
Barca continued to have their opponents under siege as Suarez, chasing a hat-trick, lashed a shot over the bar in the 66th minute.
The visitors, to their credit, mustered up several decent chances of their own in the second half, Ivi Lopez getting a glimpse of goal but firing wide, and Hinestroza firing against the bar.
Messi, also eager to notch up a hat-trick, came close to adding a seventh for his side from a free kick in the 83rd minute, but goalkeeper Vicente Guaita managed to launch himself across goal to tip the ball around the post.
The result puts Barcelona five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, while Getafe cannot count themselves safe yet as they sit just seven points clear of the drop zone in 13th place.
Giuseppe Labellarte
