MADRID: Lionel Messi scored his 644th goal to surpass Pele as the all-time record scorer for a single club as Barcelona won 3-0 away to Valladolid in La Liga.

Messi also provided his first assist of the season when he crossed for defender Clement Lenglet to head Barca in front after 21 minutes.

The Argentinian had a hand in the second goal, laying on a pass for right back Sergino Dest to latch on to down the right flank and play a cross into the path of Martin Braithwaite, who slid in to score in the 35th minute.

Messi capped a brilliant individual and team display midway through the second half, running in behind to meet a pass from teenager Pedri and slotting into the far bottom corner to eclipse Pele’s scoring mark with Santos.

Messi almost scored a second in added time when he raced through on goal but fired against the post from a tight angle.

It was Barca’s first away league win in five matches but they remain fifth, moving on to 24 points after 14 games.

Atletico Madrid are top with 32 points from 13 games after a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad earlier on Tuesday.

In Italy . . .

Champions Juventus suffered their first Serie A defeat of the season when they crashed 3-0 at home to lowly Fiorentina after having Juan Cuadrado sent off after 18 minutes.

Earlier Napoli won their appeal against the decision to hand them a 3-0 defeat and one-point deduction for failing to play their Serie A match at Juventus in October amid confusion over Italian football’s Covid-19 rules.

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