Messi's back with 2 goals as Barca wins opener

Lionel Messi scored twice to help 10-man Barcelona start the Spanish league with a 3-0 win over Elche in the debut of coach Luis Enrique on Sunday, with the Argentina star looking eager to put last season's disappointments behind him.
Messi used a signature burst of speed to dribble free of a pack of opponents before slotting in Barcelona's first goal in the 41st.
Minutes later Barcelona lost Javier Mascherano to a direct red card when he fouled Elche's Garry Rodrigues with only goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to beat.
But Barcelona's 18-year-old Munir El Haddadi, starting for the injured Neymar, scored seconds after halftime before Messi got his second goal in the 63rd after again confounding a group of defenders.

Elsewhere, promoted Eibar beat Real Sociedad 1-0 for a winning debut in the first division, while Celta Vigo beat Getafe 3-1.
After Barcelona lost its Spanish league title in the last round of last season and Argentina lost to Germany in the World Cup final, Messi summed up his desire for the new campaign to begin by writing on Facebook before the game: "First match today!!! I hope God is on our side for a great season."

It started with a bad omen, though: Just seconds after kickoff, the game was paused when a black cat ran onto the Camp Nou pitch before stewards managed to herd it off.

But aside from Mascherano's red card, there was no bad luck for Barcelona.
Messi looked back to his best and his pair of goals seemed the perfect answer to critics who had said the four-time world player of the year had lost a step.
He was lively from the start, both in attack and in defense, and scored his goals in classic Messi fashion: putting the ball on his left boot to breeze around his markers before picking his spot in the opponent's net.