Lionel Messi Free-Kick Goal Enhances Barcelona's Unrivalled Dominance Over Real Madrid Even Further

Barcelona's dominance over Real Madrid in La Liga was further enhanced on Sunday evening as the Catalonians took advantage of yet another Los Blancos slip up

Barcelona's dominance over Real Madrid in La Liga was further enhanced on Sunday evening as the Catalonians took advantage of yet another Los Blancos slip up with a stunning 4-2 win at Real Sociedad. 

The three points, which came courtesy of Paulinho's first-half tap-in, two world-class, first-time finishes from Luis Suarez and a sensational Lionel Messi free-kick after falling two behind, were made all the more sweeter following Zinedine Zidane's side's 1-0 shock home defeat to Villarreal on Saturday. 

💙❤️ See #Messi's incredible goal from every angle!https://t.co/5CC0nfJFWG

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 15, 2018

The points difference between the usually title-battling clubs now stands at 19, but those who line the Camp Nou now have yet another reason to boast over their Clasico opponents. 

Messi's inch-perfect set-piece moved him on to 17 league goals for the season, four ahead of Suarez in second-place, who has managed to find his name on the scoresheet seven times in his last five outings. 

Lionel Messi has scored his 3⃣6⃣6⃣th Liga goal for Barcelona, surpassing Gerd Müller's record for goals in one of Europe's top-five leagues. 👏👏👏#UCL pic.twitter.com/GsVkjC99sf

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 14, 2018

But maybe more personally gratifying is his advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently lies in joint-27th on the list, scoring just four so far this campaign, as well as Gareth Bale, Isco and Marco Asensio - who all join the Portugal international with just a quad of recorded finishes in the Spanish top-flight this year. 

This means that the 30-year-old Catalan hero has in fact netted more himself in La Liga this term than Real's top-four goalscorers combined, quite a feat considering the usual prolificacy of the capital's all whites. 

No matter how you look at it, the opening half of this season, which was reached on Sunday for Barca, has served extremely contrasting fortunes for country's two dominant sides, and it would be hard to find a time where Messi has endured the same struggles Ronaldo currently finds himself with at any point in his career.