Lionel Messi was in inspirational form as he scored four goals to lead Barcelona to a crushing 6-1 La Liga win over Eibar on Tuesday, continuing their 100 per cent start to the campaign.

Barca coach Ernesto Valverde was without the injured Ousmane Dembele after the club’s record signing was ruled out for up to four months with a torn hamstring, and he opted to rest several regulars such as Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, but that mattered little as Messi stepped up and produced an irresistible performance.

Barca were actually quite sluggish during the early exchanges, but they soon clicked into gear and broke the deadlock as Messi stylishly converted a penalty 20 minutes in to take his 2017 tally to 40 goals in as many games.

Paulinho, making his first La Liga start, then answered his critics again just before the break, heading in Barcelona’s second of the contest to add to his winning goal at Getafe on Saturday.

Denis Suarez got Barca’s first at Getafe and he followed Paulinho’s lead in scoring for the second successive game with a smart finish inside the near post early in the second half, just a few moments before Sergi Enrich pulled one back.

But Messi then stepped up, scoring twice in quick succession to blow Eibar away and complete his hat-trick – his second of the season after putting three past Espanyol.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was not done there, as he added a sixth three minutes from the end to leave Eibar on the end of a truly emphatic hammering.

Photo: EPA/ALEJANDRO GARCIA