Barcelona coach Valverde praises Lionel Messi after 4-1 win against Alaves

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde praised Argentine striker Lionel Messi, after his side's 4-1 win against Alaves in the La Liga, by saying he 'makes you a goal from anywhere'.

Messi scored in the 69th minute of the game and took the lead to 3-1.

"Leo appears and makes you a goal from anywhere. All matches require a lot. When they scored, they were spurred on and they had the chance to equalise, but Leo scored a great goal and things are seen in a different way from there," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying.

Thirty-two-year-old Messi has now scored at least 50 goals including club and country in nine of the last 10 calendar years.

Frenchman Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring in the 14th minute for Barca. Arturo Vidal doubled the lead in the 45th minute and the team went with the scoreline of 2-0 in the half time.

"I think we played the game well, I would say the first half was very good, then we had less momentum at the beginning of the second. We got a boost with the third goal," Valverde said.

Uruguayan Luis Suarez adding a late fourth goal from the penalty spot.

"These things happen with Messi. We see it all the time. Something like that can happen, and it's a huge advantage that we have Messi," he added.

Barcelona will next face Espanyol in La Liga on December 5.

( With inputs from ANI )