Messi hopes to maintain run and form

Lionel Messi hailed Barcelona's form after their 5-0 win at Rayo Vallecano. The forward scored twice in the rout to take his total in the Primera Division to 182, joint tenth on the league's list of all-time top goalscorers. The victory also made it eight wins from nine games at the start of the season for the Catalans and strengthened their position at the top of the table. "We feel really comfortable on the pitch," the Argentinian said on the club's official website. "It's important that we keep on winning and we hope to continue on form. We're having really bad luck with injuries, but we're all playing at a high level." Barca coach Tito Vilanova praised Messi, but focused on his work-rate. "We're very pleased with Leo, but I'm sticking with what he did in the 89th minute, when we were up 5-0 he ran back 30 metres to defend a corner kick," he said. When we're back to full strength we'll be spectacular. Cesc Fabregas on Barcelona's injury troubles David Villa was also on target as he continued his comeback from serious injury. Vilanova added: "He needs to continue gaining rhythm and minutes on the pitch. I think we, and the Spanish national team, are managing his recovery well. He gets better each day." Cesc Fabregas got another of the goals and he claimed Barca will be "spectacular" when they get all of their injured players back. "We played our best game of the season," he said. "They went toe-to-toe with us and they made it difficult for us to play out of the back. Rayo's players went all out in the first half and that favoured us in the second, that's when the spaces started to open up. "We need to be proud of this team. We're going through a complicated moment in terms of injuries, but we have a big enough squad to keep things moving forward. When we're back to full strength we'll be spectacular." From FIFA