BARCELONA — Lionel Messi scored twice Saturday as Barcelona made the best start in the history of the Spanish league with a 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid extended its dominance over Atletico Madrid by easing to a 2-0 victory. Barcelona's 13 wins and a draw in the opening 14 rounds surpassed Madrid's 12 wins and two draws to begin the 1991-92 campaign. The leader's milestone, unmatched in 81 previous seasons, came in the first year under coach Tito Vilanova, who took over from Pep Guardiola in the offseason after four campaigns as his assistant. “I'm very happy for the performance of my players and for having achieved the record,” said Vilanova. “It's good to have won so many games, but I am even happier that even winning 5-1 we were still looking for a sixth goal until the end. I'm sure that we will compete for titles this season.” Barcelona led 3-0 by halftime thanks to goals by Gerard Pique, Messi and Adriano. Cesc Fabregas and Messi scored after halftime. Messi's 11th double of the season left him one goal shy of Gerd Mueller's record of 85 for club and country in a calendar year, set in 1972. Madrid's ninth straight win in the Spanish capital's biggest derby kept alive its run of not losing to Atletico in 24 straight games, dating back to 1999. Atletico entered the game on its best start ever with 11 wins in 13 rounds. But any hopes of ending years of misery were crushed when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an exquisite free kick in the 16th minute. The match at the Santiago Bernabeu featured more hard fouls, petty scuffling, and bad tempers than beautiful play. Atletico remained in second place with its second loss of the season. But Barcelona is six points clear, as third-place Madrid closed to within five of its city rival. Also, Valencia fired coach Mauricio Pellegrino after losing 5-2 at home to Real Sociedad with all the visitors' goals coming after Jonas was red carded in the first half, leaving Valencia with 10 mean. Getafe, meanwhile, beat Malaga 1-0 for its third consecutive win. — Agencies
