Argentine Lionel Messi showed a record Seattle soccer crowd of 66,848 at Qwest Field why he is the best player in the world at the moment, scoring two first goals to lead Barcelona to a 4-0 win over MLS's Sounders.

Messi showed what happens when Barca is given acres of space, as the Sounders did on the first two goals.

With plenty of room outside the penalty area, Messi beat Seattle keeper Kasey Keller in the 21st minute with a shot from 20 yards to Keller's right.

Later in the first half, Xavi found room outside the penalty area and crossed the ball to Messi, who beat Keller from cross range at the far post.

At halftime, both teams emptied their benches. Of the 22 starters, only Seattle defender James Riley was still on the field at the start of the second half and he went off in the 61st minute.

Barca youngsters Jeffren Suarez and Pedro Rodriguez completed the scoring with late goals.

A 25-4 edge in shots typified Barca's superiority more than a 55-45 percent edge in possession. Intelligent and cohesive use of the ball, not outright ownership, is how it has soared to the top of the class.

Barcelona concludes its tour in San Francisco Saturday against CD Guadalajara.

Aug. 5 in Seattle
Seattle Sounders 0 Barcelona 4. Goals: Messi 21, 41, Jeffren 75, Pedro 89.
Seattle Sounders -- Keller (Boss, 46); Riley (Wahl, 61), Hurtado (Riley, 46), Marshall (Ianni, 46), Gonzalez (Brown, 46; Fucito, 78); Evans (Scott, 46), Alonso (Neagle, 46), Ljungberg (Vagenas, 46), Zakuani (Sturgis, 46); Montero (Levesque, 46), Jaqua (Nyassi, 46).
Barcelona -- Pinto (Jorquera, 46); Sanchez (Muniesa, 46), Puyol (Pique, 46), Abidal (Henrique, 46), Alves (Maxwell, 46); Busquets (Toure, 46), Fontas (Keita, 46), Xavi (Dos Santos, 46); Henry (Pedro, 46), Krkic (Jeffren, 46), Messi (Gudjohnsen, 46).
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA).
Att.: 66.848.


Messi's first goal



Messi's second goal