Messi leads Barca to flying return against Mallorca

Barcelona record an emphatic 4-0 victory away to Mallorca in both teams' first match in three months due to the coronavirus.

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT VIDEO SHOWS: POST-MATCH NEWS CONFERENCES WITH BARCELONA MANAGER QUIQUE SETIEN AND RCD MALLORCA MANAGER VICENTE MORENA SHOWS: PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (LA LIGA/MEDIAPRO - NO RESALES) 1.

BARCELONA MANAGER, QUIQUE SETIEN, AT NEWS CONFERENCE 2.

SETIEN TAKING A QUESTION VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA MANAGER, QUIQUE SETIEN, ON RETURNING TO PLAY, SAYING: "Well, there was a lot of uncertainness in how we were going to respond (to returning to play) and how our opponent was going to respond as well.

But now we are seeing with pretty much all the games (that have been played so far) that things are different.

And I don't think anyone was completely certain about what was going to happen.

Maybe we're lacking - not just us, but everyone - a bit of ball finesse, a few of the things we've lost that we will have to work on a bit more.

But I'm certain this will get better as the games go on and when we have more play time.

To win this match today the way we did with the result we got gives us confidence and builds on the advantage (towards the tile) we already had.

And I'm happy to start off like this because its good for us going forward." PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES VIA ACTION IMAGES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 4.

STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF BARCELONA'S LIONEL MESSI SCORING THEIR FOURTH GOAL PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (LA LIGA/MEDIAPRO - NO RESALES) 5.

SPLITSCREEN OF QUIQUE SETIEN TAKING A QUESTION VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE 6.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA MANAGER, QUIQUE SETIEN, ON HAVING LUIS SUAREZ BACK, SAYING: "Well, I think the satisfaction of seeing Luis (Suarez) back on the pitch and seeing how well he played during those 30 or 35 minutes that he played.

I think he was at a top level.

He made 4, 5 or 6 very high-level plays.

And that means a lot because he is an important player for us and he's going to help us a lot.

And to start out like this is really important for him and even more so for the squad." PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES VIA ACTION IMAGES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 7.

STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF MESSI CELEBRATING SCORING SIDE'S FOURTH GOAL WITH LUIS SUAREZ AND TEAM MATES PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (LA LIGA/MEDIAPRO - NO RESALES) 8.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA MANAGER, QUIQUE SETIEN, ON PLAYING WITHOUT CROWDS, SAYING: "I think the crowds can have an influence at certain times, both in favour and against.

The reality is once you're on the pitch and engaged in the game and what's happening sometimes you don't hear anything.

You're paying attention to the game.

I'm not sure how to say to what degree an away crowd influences us.

However, at home we'd rather have them because you always feel the support at tough times or when you have doubts.

And well, it's affecting all of us the same, so we just have to accept it and move on." PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES VIA ACTION IMAGES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 9.

STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF BARCELONA'S ARTURO VIDAL SCORING SIDE'S FIRST GOAL PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (LA LIGA/MEDIAPRO - NO RESALES) 10.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RCD MALLORCA MANAGER VICENTE MORENA, SAYING: "The truth is, when you play Barcelona or Real Madrid or clubs at that level, playing with or without crowds may or may not help, but it's always going to be tough.

These teams usually beat you with or without crowds.

But it is true that generally we have shown ourselves to be a strong team at home and this was an additional handicap we had today.

We had to play without that strength, motivation and the push and energy that the crowd sometimes can give you.

It's another obstacle.

But this is how things are going to be through to the end of the season and we have to adapt to it.

And truthfully, I think Barcelona played better than we did.

And when you give up a goal so early it limits your opportunities to win the match.

I think we can do better than we did today.

And if any team is going to adapt to these new circumstances, I hope it is us.

We would have liked to have started with a win, but Barcelona were tough." PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN (JUNE 13, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES VIA ACTION IMAGES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 11.

STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF MESSI IN ACTION WITH MALLORCA'S TAKEFUSA KUBO 12.

VARIOUS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECURITY CHASING AND REMOVING PITCH INVADER WEARING AN ARGENTINA MESSI SHIRT STORY: Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday (June 13), making the perfect return to action after Spanish football's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The champions got off to a flying start when Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored with a diving header in the second minute, while Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barca later in the first half.

Jordi Alba then added a third goal for Barca in the 79th minute after latching on to a through ball from Messi, who had also set up Braithwaite's goal with a header.

The Argentine then completed the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time, netting 20 league goals for the 12th season in a row.

The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday (June 14) in their first game back.

(Production: Kurt Michael Hall)