A brace by Lionel Messi decided a fairly one-sided affair at La Romareda as Barcelona ascended to the top of the standings, albeit temporarily. The Argentinian opened the scoring in the waning minutes of the first half and added a second after the break, while Leonardo Ponzio saw red for the Aragons in-between.Despite having the lion's share of possession, Barcelona looked unable to break down a resolute Zaragoza defence. Surprisingly the first real chance of the game fell to the hosts when in the 19th minute Brauilo was released through on goal, but scrambled what would prove to be the only clear-cut chance for his team.
On the other side of the pitch Pedro and Daniel Alves missed on the chance to put Barcelona ahead as the game was approaching half-time. A goal before the break did come for the Blaugrana, however, when in the 42nd minute Lionel Messi finished cooly past Antonio Doblas after some good play by David Villa.
Three minutes into the second half Leonardo Ponzio got himself sent off in a ridiculous way after a clip around the ear of Dani Alves. While the Brazilian defender did overplay in this situation, the red card's validity was out of question.
The red card saw Zaragoza withdraw even deeper in their half as the visitors continued to pass the ball around and retain possession for long periods. Lionel Messi, however, was not content with playing out the game and completed his brace with a wonderful finish in the 66th minute.
Zaragoza tried to mount a late comeback, but struggled to break the Catalans' solid defence with just ten men. Barcelona continued to dominate the game and had a few half-chances to score another goal, but could not blast more past Antonio Doblas as the game finished 2-0.
The Blaugrana's next league game is a home encounter against Sevilla, while Zaragoza visit Valencia.
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