Football: Messi saves lackluster Barca, Sociedad reclaim top spot

MADRID, Spain -- Lionel Messi saved Barcelona from another embarrassing result by scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over lowly Levante, while Real Sociedad returned top of La Liga on Sunday.

Messi struck with 14 minutes remaining of a lacklustre display from Barca at the Camp Nou which will do little to ease fan fears following their 3-0 hammering at the hands of Juventus midweek.

Ronald Koeman's side are still way off the pace in the title race, nine points behind Sociedad who reclaimed first place despite only drawing 1-1 with Eibar.

Barcelona do however have two games in hand on the Basque outfit.

Atletico are level on 26 points with Sociedad and also have two games in hand while Real Madrid are now just three points behind the leaders having played one less after beating their local rivals 2-0 on Saturday.

Villarreal are four points off the lead in fourth after drawing 1-1 at Real Betis, who are one point behind Barca in ninth.

"The team is working well, they gave the maximum," said Koeman.

"We still lack a little confidence in ourselves, in our game, but we had a lot of chances, and I have nothing to say about the attitude of the players in this match."

Barca managed to force several saves from Aitor Fernandez, with the Levante goalkeeper doing particularly well to push away a stinging shot from Martin Braithwaite in the 16th minute and Antoine Griezmann's header five minutes later.

However the best chance of the opening period fell to Jorge de Frutos in the 12th minute, the Spaniard somehow shooting straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen after the ball broke kindly for him right in front of goal.

- Messi saves day -

Barca continued to dominate possession in the second half but if anything looked less threatening, with Fernandez being called into action largely for shots that were hit straight at him.

However with Levante looking more comfortable than a side of their level should at the Camp Nou, Messi saved his team with a clinical finish off the post after collecting Frenkie de Jong's pass.

It was hardly the sort of display to honour Sergio Busquets' 593rd appearance for the club, which takes him level at fourth of all time for matches played for Barca alongside Carles Puyol.

However the three points are a boost ahead of the visit of Sociedad on Wednesday, which is then followed up by another home clash with Valencia on Saturday.

Earlier Ander Barrenetxea gave Real Sociedad the lead in San Sebastian with a thumping strike in the 20th minute, but Sergi Enrich turned home with 25 minutes remaining to send his team 10th on 15 points.

Sociedad would have had a bigger gap between them and Atletico had Igor Zubeldia's 80th-minute tap-in not been ruled out by VAR for an extremely tight offside.

Sunday's draw was Sociedad's sixth in as many games in all competitions, and came after another 1-1 draw at Napoli on Thursday which saw them squeeze into the last 32 of the Europa League.

Granada won 1-0 at Elche in Sunday's other match, a win that keeps them one point ahead of Barcelona.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Real and Atletico fail to capitalize after Barca stunned by Levante

VALENCIA, Spain -- Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid each passed up the chance to go top of La Liga on Saturday after Barcelona conceded three goals in seven minutes during a surprise 3-1 defeat by Levante. 

Lionel Messi converted a first-half penalty at the City of Valencia Stadium for his sixth goal in five games only for Levante to stun the defending champions with an incredible treble shortly after the hour.

Yet Atletico and Sevilla played out a 1-1 draw at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where Diego Costa missed a penalty, before Real squandered a string of opportunities at the Santiago Bernabeu in a goalless draw against Real Betis.

It means Barca will be relieved to stay at the summit - ahead of Atletico by a point with a game in hand and in front of Real on goal difference - even if their collapse against Levante should offer encouragement to their title rivals.

Meanwhile, Granada will overtake them all if they beat Real Sociedad on Sunday.

"Everything unravelled," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. "We didn't start the second half well, we weren't creating chances and although they weren't either they suddenly scored two goals. The third one hurt us a lot." 

Jose Campana and Borja Mayoral scored in the 61st and 63rd minutes before Nemanja Radoja added a third in the 68th to leave their disheveled opponents with too much to do.

After seven wins on the bounce in all competitions, Barca arrived in Valencia as overwhelming favourites, particularly given the irresistible form of Messi, whose goal was the 500th of his career with his left foot.

"Opponents always play us like it is one of the biggest games of the year," Valverde added. "You have to have an answer."

After any Barcelona defeat, Valverde's future is a topic for discussion. Asked if he was surprised by his players or might consider resignation, he said: "No, to both questions."

To make matters worse, Luis Suarez was forced off in the 41st minute with an injury to his right calf and would now appear to be a doubt for Tuesday's Champions League game at home to Slavia Prague. 

An unfortunate half for Suarez had seen him booked for a foul committed by Arthur Melo but referee Hernandez Hernandez corrected his error after being made aware by VAR. 

Messi swept home his penalty after Jorge Miramon brought down Nelson Semedo and Messi might have made it two, but this time Miramon restored some credit by clearing off the line.

- Seven-minute blitz floors Barca -

Levante began the second half on the front foot but nobody could have predicted what was to follow. First, Pique's under-hit clearance was punished, as Mayoral and Jose Luis Morales shifted the ball inside to Campana, who struck hard into the corner. 

Then a loose Carles Perez header allowed Mayoral space and he did brilliantly to curl past the outstretched right hand of Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

With the home fans still celebrating, Radoja made it three. Barcelona again failed to clear and Radoja's effort might have been saved had Sergio Busquets, on as a substitute, not caused a cruel deflection. 

Messi thought he had launched a comeback when he bundled through and poked in but Antoine Griezmann was offside and Levante might even have made it four late on if Gonzalo Melero been more precise.

It left Real Madrid, Atletico and Sevilla all with the chance to claim top spot but none seized the initiative.

Real are yet to establish a consistent run of results, even if they created more than enough chances to beat Betis and on another day might have scored five.

Eden Hazard saw a much-needed goal ruled out and Sergio Ramos went close too before Karim Benzema skewed wide at the back post from four yards. 

The best opportunity fell to Ferland Mendy but, with only Joel Robles to beat, he lifted his finish up, over and wide. Hazard had waved Mendy through and might have wondered why he did not take the ball himself. 

Betis rode their luck, particularly when Zouhair Feddal handled in the box, while Vinicius Junior and Ramos hit the goalkeeper amid mad scrambles in injury-time.

Atletico will also rue chances missed, with Costa most guilty, his 72nd-minute penalty saved by Tomas Vaclik after Alvaro Morata cancelled out Franco Vazquez's opener.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Messi seals another La Liga title for Barcelona

BARCELONA - Lionel Messi fittingly sealed Barcelona's 26th La Liga title on Saturday by coming off the bench to score the goal in a 1-0 win over Levante in front of a jubilant Nou Camp crowd, who celebrated a remarkable eighth league crown in 11 years.

Barca's captain decided the game and the title in the 61st minute as he received a header from Arturo Vidal, effortlessly freeing himself from two defenders with his right foot before using his left to plant the ball into the far bottom corner.

He had started on the bench along with Sergio Busquets as Ernesto Valverde had one eye on Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Liverpool.

But the coach inevitably turned to his talisman with the game goalless at halftime, despite the best efforts of Philippe Coutinho, who had numerous attempts on goal and clanged the crossbar before being withdrawn for Messi.

The Argentine needed just over a quarter of an hour to have the desired effect, lighting up the stadium with his 34th league goal of the season in 32 appearances.

With 13 assists to his name as well he has his footprints on more than half his side's 86 goals.

"Messi was always ready to come on and I always knew he was going to play but we also have a game on Wednesday. He has to stay active and he scores goals everywhere he goes and he has won us this title," Valverde told reporters.

"It is very difficult to win this title, without the amount of teams we are competing with, especially with this margin.

"We have done it two years in a row and it's fantastic to see the fans celebrate the title like this at home. Now we want to go and celebrate it."

Cries of "champions" rang out from the 91,000 supporters crammed into the Nou Camp but Barca's players dropped their concentration and Jose Luis Morales should have levelled for the visitors but blasted over the bar.

NARROW ADVANTAGE

Levante also hit the post in the final stages as Barca were left clinging on to their narrow advantage deep into stoppage-time but relief came when they cleared a corner and the final whistle sounded.

"They turned us upside down and I think that was down to nerves. They had a few chances but it was incredible when they hit the post," Valverde added.

"We couldn't kill the game off and they started to believe while we get more nervous but luckily we were able to see out the win."

Messi, who became the first player to win 10 La Liga crowns with Barca and only the third player from any club to do so, hoisted the trophy into the sky before joining his team mates and their children on a lap of honour.

"Eight out of 11 titles will be very difficult to repeat because La Liga is so difficult, it has the best teams, the ones that are always fighting for European trophies so what we have done is historic," said midfielder Busquets.

Barca lead the standings on 83 points after 35 games, an unassailable nine clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid with three matches left because they have a superior head-to-head record this season.

Valverde's side have now taken the first step in their bid to win a third treble in a decade.

After their Champions League semi-final against Liverpool when they will be bidding to reach the final of Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 2015, Barcelona play Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on May 25.

"The players and the fans should enjoy this night without going over the top," added Ivan Rakitic.

"When we wake up tomorrow we have to prepare for what comes next, we have to think about Liverpool, who have an incredible team and a brilliant coach." 

(Reporting by Richard Martin, editing by Ed Osmond/Greg Stutchbury)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Messi hat-trick restores Barcelona's La Liga lead

MADRID, Spain -- Lionel Messi continued his sublime form by netting his 31st La Liga hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Levante 5-0 on Sunday to regain their three-point lead at the top of the table.

The 31-year-old Argentinian arrived in Valencia having scored two free-kicks in last weekend's derby thumping of Espanyol. He took his goals tally for the season to 20 after a virtuoso display, while also teeing up Luis Suarez's 35th-minute opener and Gerard Pique's late fifth.

Barca were under pressure after Atletico Madrid and second-placed Sevilla had both moved level on points with the Catalan giants.

But after resting his key stars for their final Champions League group-stage match against Tottenham in midweek, coach Ernesto Valverde saw his refreshed side cruise to a third straight league win without conceding a goal.

"At the beginning it was difficult, they squeezed us and had a chance that hit the woodwork," said Valverde.

Levante started the game brightly and visiting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was forced into an early save by Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng.

But Barca did not take long to start moving through the gears, with Messi curling wide from long range before testing Oier Olazabal in the Levante goal with a free-kick.

Just seconds after Boateng hammered a left-footed strike against the crossbar, the reigning Spanish champions broke the deadlock as Messi jinked through a mesmerised home defence and picked out Suarez who volleyed home.

But Levante, who had ended Barcelona's dreams of going through last season's La Liga campaign unbeaten with a remarkable 5-4 victory in the penultimate game, came close to a quick response as Jose Luis Morales fired over.

The match was all but ended as a contest when Messi bore down on goal two minutes before half-time and drilled low into the net.

"I'm happy to have won here, because last year we came and they put five goals past us having gone the whole season unbeaten, so we knew about the danger of Levante and it was a match we had marked out," added Valverde.

He wasted little time after the restart to add his second in the 47th minute, sweeping home Jordi Alba's clever cutback, before completing his treble with a simple tap-in from Arturo Vidal's square pass on the hour mark.

Messi has scored five goals in two league games since finishing only fifth in the voting for the Ballon d'Or earlier this month.

A bad evening for Levante worsened with 14 minutes to play, as left-back Erick Cabaco was sent off for a reckless lunge on Ousmane Dembele.

Centre-back Pique added further gloss to the scoreline in the 88th minute, rampaging forward to collect Messi's pass, before keeping his cool and rolling the ball home.

- Sevilla keep up the pace -

Sevilla reclaimed second place earlier on Sunday as second-half strikes from Ever Banega and Pablo Sarabia sealed a 2-0 win over Girona.

Pablo Machin's side are unbeaten in seven league games since a 4-2 loss at Barcain October.

The hosts had to wait until the 55th minute to break the deadlock, when striker Andre Silva was tripped in the area by Girona defender Juanpe.

Argentinian Banega stepped up to send visiting goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The points were wrapped up only nine minutes later, as Wissam Ben Yedder cut the ball back for the onrushing Sarabia to slide home his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.

"In the first half they (Girona) were very good," said Machin. "They were very organised and had good chances, when (Sevilla goalkeeper) Tomas (Vaclik) was splendid.

"In the second half we were the better team."

Elsewhere, Villarreal were plunged further into crisis as Samuele Longo's 93rd-minute strike saw them held to a 2-2 draw at bottom club Huesca.

Villarreal, who replaced Javier Calleja with Luis Garcia Plaza as coach in midweek, are only one point and one place above the relegation zone.

Real Betis eased to a 3-1 win at Espanyol to move into fifth place after a third successive league victory.

Espanyol, who led the table earlier in the season, have lost five straight matches to slip into the bottom half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com