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Summary Villa played Jordi Alba clear to put the result beyond doubt in the 61st.
Barcelonas 3-1 home win over Celta Vigo on Saturday marked the Catalan clubs best start to the Spanish league in its 113-year history.Its ninth win through 10 rounds maintained an eight-point gap over defending champion Real Madrid, which beat Zaragoza 4-0 at home, and left it alone at the top after Atletico Madrids 23-game unbeaten run in all competitions was ended by Valencia 2-0.A spectacular Roberto Soldado goal in the 20th and Nelson Valdezs injury time strike undid Diego Simeones team.Soldado athletically hit a shoulder-high volley from a long ball supplied by midfielder Adil Rami straight past a defender and flailing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.Barcelonas previous best start came under Dutch coach Louis van Gaal in 1997 when it had eight wins and a draw before losing its firstmatch.Adriano and David Villa scored in the 21st and 26th minutes to give Barcelona a 2-1 advantage by halftime, with Mario Bermejo netting for Celta in the 24th.Villa played Jordi Alba clear to put the result beyond doubt in the 61st.Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who became a father for the first time on Friday to a baby boy, paraded his Golden Boot trophy for the top scorer in Europes domestic leagues last season before the game.Celta packed its box and looked to counterattack against a Barcelona defense still missing injured first-choice center backs Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, and striker Iago Aspas had a golden opportunity early but couldnt better Victor Valdes one-on-one.Barcelona went ahead when Adriano played Pedro Rodriguez wide for the winger to charge forward and cross back to the Brazilian defender who volleyed past goalkeeper Javi Varas.But Celta hit right back as forward Mario Bermejo pushed in a rebound of Alex Lopezs initial strike saved by Valdes, to cap a move triggered by an incisive long pass from Michael Krohn-Dehli.The flurry of goals continued as Villa and Andres Iniesta quickly dampened Celtas euphoria two minutes later. The Spain striker played Iniesta through with a deft back-heeled pass and moved into position to fire in Iniestas assist.Messi, usually so deadly when given even half a chance, uncharacteristically failed to get off a shot when he stole the ball and had only Varas to beat just before halftime. Messi was unable to add to his league-leading 13 goals.Aspas again sent shudders through the Camp Nou crowd with a twisting shot from almost no angle 30 second into the second half, but Villa cued Barcas decisive goal with a second exquisite back-heeled flick to send Alba clear to dribble past Varas and roll the ball in.Madrid won thanks to goals by Gonzalo Higuain, Angel di Maria, Michael Essien and Luka Modric.Higuain pounced on a save that Zaragoza goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez could not hang onto in the 23rd minute.Two minutes later Di Maria did the same to the hapless Jimenez.The match began with a minutes silence to honor four young women who died in Madrid in a Halloween night stampede while at a large dance party hosted by popular American DJ Steve Aoki.Modric was aggressive while chasing balls in midfield until a rash challenge earned Madrids Croatia star a yellow card in the 37th.A powerful shot by midfielder Victor Rodriguez forced a flying save by Casillas in the upper left of goal in the 58th.Midfielder Antonio Apono was unlucky not to score in the 66th when he hit the crossbar from long range.Bad luck continued when Helder Postiga had a perfectly legal goal disallowed for offside in the 69th after a skillful display of ball control.Abraham Minero kept the pressure up and caused panic in Madrids defense as he lined up a shot in the 82nd only to fire over the crossbar.Ronaldo almost scored three minutes later when his fiercely struck free kick bent Jimenezs upraised hand back only to then bounce off the top of the crossbar.Essien scored Madrids third in the 90th and Modric added the last in injury time.Malaga suffered just its second loss in 16 games in all competitions when Francisco Piti Medina scored twice to give Rayo Vallecanoa 2-1 win at La Rosaleda Stadium.
