Lionel Messi surprises Elche goalkeeper by asking for his jersey after impressive win

Spanish giants Barcelona succeeded in putting the criticism of poor form to rest with a splendid victory against Elche in LaLiga. Club captain Lionel Messi steered his side towards an impeccable win as he struck twice in the second half, apart from a goal from Jordi Alba to seal the tie. Following the final whistle, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner surprised Elche goalkeeper Edgar Badia by asking for his shirt. 

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Barcelona vs Elche: Messi's brace guides Blaugrana to thrilling win 

Badia emerged as the standout performer in the first half as he denied Barcelona on at least two occasions. But his efforts turned sour when he went on to concede thrice in the second half. Messi broke the deadlock soon after the break as he barbed on towards the Elche defence.

The Argentina international mesmerised with a one-two with striker Martin Braithwaite before firing the ball past Badia. Messi doubled the lead in the 68th minute when Frenkie de Jong ran through the midfield beating several players before squaring the ball towards the Barcelona captain. And the 33-year-old made no mistake as he scored past Badia from a tight space. 

With the brace, Messi has now become LaLiga's top scorer with 18 goals this season. Meanwhile, in the 72nd minute, Braithwaite headed the ball towards Jordi Alba after a scintillating Messi cross. The defender then struck a half-volley past Badia to seal the win for his side. 

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Messi surprises Badia, exchanges shirt with him

After the final whistle, players of the two teams began exchanging shirts with each other. Similarly, Edgar Badia and Messi hugged each other as the Barcelona captain took off his shirt. The Argentina international then signalled him to exchange his shirt, which Badia seemingly did not anticipate. The shot-stopper gave a surprising look before hastily removing his shirt to hand it over to the Argentine. All this while, Messi had a smile on his face. 

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LaLiga standings update: Barcelona climb to third spot 

Following the victory, Barcelona have climbed to the third spot in the LaLiga standings with 50 points in 24 games. Ronald Koeman's men are now unbeaten in the previous 14 league games, with four victories in the previous five games. They trail by five points to current LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid but have played a game more than the Rojiblancos. The Blaugrana next play Sevilla in LaLiga on Saturday.

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Image courtesy: Movistar