Lionel Messi scored twice on Wednesday as Barcelona beat second-division Girona 3-1 in a preseason friendly. Messi helped set up Philippe Coutinho, back from his loan at Bayern Munich, for the first goal after 21 minutes. Messi only returned to training at the start of last week after saying he wanted to leave the club. Messi started Barcelona’s first friendly on Saturday, playing 45 minutes without scoring in a 3-1 victory over third-tier Gimnastica Tarragona. Earlier on Wednesday, La Liga president Javier Tebas said he was pleased Messi had stayed at Barcelona.

Source: Punch September 16, 2020 21:22 UTC