Barcelona have taken a 1-0 lead into the halfway stage of their La Liga opener against Elche this evening, but will have to play the remainder of the match with just 10 men after Javier Mascherano was sent off in the closing stages of the half.
The hosts came within inches of breaking the deadlock midway through the first half when youngster Munir El Haddadi turned inside the box before firing an effort against the Elche crossbar.
Barcelona were left cursing their luck once again just past the half-hour mark when they hit the bar for a second time, with Andres Iniesta rattling the woodwork from the edge of the box.
They had another chance to take the lead just one minute later as Dani Alves stole into the box unmarked, but he flashed his half-volley narrowly past the post.
Luis Enrique's side finally made the breakthrough in the 42nd minute as Lionel Messi opened his account for the season, working space on the edge of the box before rolling an effort into the bottom corner.
Their joy quickly turned into despair, however, as Messi's compatriot Javier Mascherano was shown a straight red card just a minute later for clipping the heels of Garry Rodrigues when the Elche man was through on goal.
Barney Corkhill
