Spot On Messi Guides Barca To Home Victory Over Valladolid
17th February 2019
The Argentine coolly dispatched a spot-kick just before half-time, drilling beyond the reach of Jordi Masip after Gerard Pique was bundled to the ground
- Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed another as La Liga leaders Barcelona ground out an unconvincing 1-0 win over Real Valladolid
- Messi's fitness was again in the spotlight on Saturday after a niggling thigh strain in recent weeks, but he completed the full 90 minutes at the Camp Nou and hit the 30-goal mark at Barcelona for the 11th straight season
- The excellent Masip alertly gathered Messi's follow-up header and again denied Suarez late on as Barca pulled seven points clear of Atletico ahead of their trip to Lyon in the Champions League
MADRID, Spain-
Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed another as La Liga leaders Barcelona
ground out an unconvincing 1-0 win over Real Valladolid, while Antoine
Griezmann surpassed Fernando Torres with his 130th goal for Atletico Madrid.
Messi's fitness was
again in the spotlight on Saturday after a niggling thigh strain in recent
weeks, but he completed the full 90 minutes at the Camp Nou and hit the 30-goal
mark at Barcelona for the 11th straight season.
The Argentine coolly
dispatched a spot-kick just before half-time, drilling beyond the reach of
Jordi Masip after Gerard Pique was bundled to the ground by Valladolid
midfielder Michel.
Masip brilliantly
tipped over a Messi volley soon after the interval and Luis Suarez wasted a
huge opportunity to double the lead shortly after replacing Kevin-Prince
Boateng with an hour gone.
READ
ALSO: Record-Breaking Griezmann Scores In Atletico Triumph Over Rayo Vallecano
Messi found himself
booked for dissent after an apparent foul on him went unpunished, and he then
blew the chance to kill off Valladolid when Masip kept out his second penalty
of the night -- awarded following a trip on Philippe Coutinho.
The excellent Masip
alertly gathered Messi's follow-up header and again denied Suarez late on as
Barca pulled seven points clear of Atletico ahead of their trip to Lyon in the
Champions League.
Griezmann scored a
second-half winner in Atletico's 1-0 victory at neighbours Rayo Vallecano to
provide a timely boost going into next week's showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo
and Juventus.
The French forward
surpassed Torres for fifth all-time on the Atletico goalscoring charts as they
shook off two successive defeats, including last week's 3-1 loss at home to
Real Madrid.