Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona routed Real Sociedad 6-1in La Liga to add extra gloss to a night that saw him become the club's all-time appearance holder. Antione Griezmann netted against the club where he began his career before Sergino Dest scored his first of the night before half time after latching on to a sweeping pass from Messi. The defender struck again early in the second half before Messi controlled a sumptuous pass from Sergio Busquets and scored to mark a night on which he overtook Xavi as Barca's record appearance maker, with 768 games for the Catalans. A fifth goal came courtesy of Ousmane Dembele on 71 minutes after a brilliant solo run and Sociedad's Ander Barrenetxea hit arguably the best goal of the game in what was the host's only bright spot of the evening. Messi, however, had the final say, finishing off a flowing team move in the 89th minute to score his 23rd league goal of the season, increasing his lead at the top of the scoring charts. The victory took Barca above Real Madrid into second place in the standings on 62 points, four behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who beat Alaves 1-0 at home, with 10 games remaining. "This is a difficult place to come, Barca always used to struggle here but we came flying out of the blocks," said Griezmann. "We worked very hard, we won the ball lots of times deep in their half and reacted well every time we lost it. It was a great Barcelona performance." Barca coach Ronald Koeman emphasised the importance of easing the scoring burden on Messi. "It's always important for players other than Leo to score goals. That way it's much harder to defend against us," Koeman told reporters. __________________________
