Football: Messi and Suarez late show rescues Barca in draw at Villarreal

VILA-REAL, Spain - Barcelona's Lionel Messi came off the bench in his side's hour of need to inspire the Liga leaders to battle back from 4-2 down in stoppage time to snatch a remarkable 4-4 draw at struggling Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Catalans avoided a first league loss since November with a thumping left-foot strike from Luis Suarez deep into added time after captain and top scorer Messi gave them hope with a deadly free kick in the 90th minute.

The draw saw Barca's lead over Atletico Madrid, who earlier won 2-0 at home to Girona, trimmed to eight points ahead of Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at the Nou Camp. Barcelona have 70 points to Atletico's 62 with eight games left.

Even without Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic in their starting lineup, the visitors still strolled into the lead through a Philippe Coutinho goal in the 12th minute, which Brazilian forward Malcom soon doubled with a header.

But Villarreal, who began the game one point above the relegation zone, hauled themselves into contention with a strike from 19-year-old Samuel Chukwueze midway through the first half.

Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi took advantage of slack positioning from Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalise soon after the interval and Vicente Iborra completed the home side's remarkable revival just after the hour mark.

Barca's Argentine talisman Messi was called from the bench to rescue the champions but instead Villarreal increased their lead with a strike from their substitute Carlos Bacca.

Villarreal's Alvaro Gonzalez was then dismissed for a second booking with four minutes remaining, paving the way for South Americans Messi and Suarez to strike for Barcelona and produce a remarkable finish to an enthralling contest.

"It was a crazy game, one which it seemed either side could have won comfortably, and it speaks volumes about the strength of this league, where you can never assume you're going to win a game easily," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.

"It was very important not to lose, even though we wanted the three points. The sensation we felt with the late comeback makes us feel very good, it shows we are never ready to give in. If we'd lost we'd be feeling different about the Atletico game."

EARLY ADVANTAGE

Barca seized an early advantage when Brazilian Malcom tore down the right wing and rolled the ball across the goal for Coutinho to tap into an empty net.

Malcom then scored his first goal in La Liga by heading home a cross from Arturo Vidal, while Coutinho should have made it 3-0 but his attempted chip bounced off the far post.

Villarreal got back into the game with the help of veteran midfielder Santi Cazorla, who picked out Chukwueze with an incisive pass, and although the Nigerian shot against the post, he calmly tucked the rebound into the net.

The hosts were galvanised and produced a bold and exciting display of counter-attacking football that made it easy to forget they have been struggling at the foot of the table for most of the season.

But, spurred on by Messi, Barca roared back to life, showing why they enjoy such a generous lead at the top of the league.

Despite the euphoria of the game's finale, Valverde urged his players to improve for the rest of the season as they look to win a treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

"This game should help us a lot with the games we have left and make us realise that there's still a lot left to do," he said with Atletico up next and Manchester United waiting in next week's Champions league quarter-final, first leg.

"We can't allow our opponents to outnumber us in attack like they did today, if we are to attack well we need to defend well." 

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LA LIGA: Wasteful Barca held 2-2 at Villarreal, Real down Sevilla

BARCELONA - Barcelona squandered the chance to go 11 points clear in La Liga on Sunday after blowing a two-goal lead in the space of six minutes in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal that was overshadowed by a controversial penalty.

A 62nd minute own goal by Barcelona substitute Jeremy Mathieu, who turned a corner into his own net, ended Barca's hopes of a 13th successive La Liga win after Villarreal striker Cedric Bakambu reduced the deficit.

Ivan Rakitic gave Barca the lead after 20 minutes from close range and Neymar made it 2-0 in the 41st with a chipped penalty as goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, who looked to have touched the ball before felling Neymar in the box, went the wrong way.

Barcelona are nine points clear of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Third-placed Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-0 to stand 10 points off the pace and one behind their city rivals.

"It's a positive day for us as we're one point closer to our objective," Barca coach Luis Enrique told a news conference. "Every point we gain on our rivals is fantastic."

Fourth-placed Villarreal had coach Marcelino dismissed from the dugout just after Rakitic's goal when he protested at the referee's decision not to give a second yellow card to Barcelona defender Gerard Pique following a handball.

Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez's decision not to book Pique for the handball was controversial, as the defender would have been suspended for Barca's next league game against arch rivals Real Madrid had he been dismissed.

The official further enraged the home supporters before the break when he awarded the penalty when Asenjo appeared to reach the ball before sending Neymar over.

POTENT TRIDENT

Real Madrid's attacking trident of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo were all on target in a 4-0 win over Sevilla that took Zinedine Zidane's side within a point of second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Bale converted from close range for the third and his 43rd league goal for Madrid, surpassing ex-Barca forward Gary Lineker to become the all-time top scoring British player in La Liga.

Welshman Bale, who also hit the woodwork against Sevilla and had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside in the first half, needed 75 games to eclipse former England striker Lineker, who hit 42 goals in 103 games for Barcelona from 1986 to 1989.

Benzema opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a brilliant half-volley while Keylor Navas preserved the lead by saving Kevin Gameiro's penalty before the break, the third spot kick the Real goalkeeper has stopped this season.

Ronaldo also missed a penalty -- for the third time this season -- in the second half before Gameiro had an effort harshly ruled out for offside.

Ronaldo pounced from close range after 64 minutes to wrap up the points and made a gesture of apology to the home fans, while Bale netted two minutes later and substitute Jese added a late fourth for a scoreline that somewhat flattered the home side.

Celta Vigo moved into the top six after beating Valencia 2-0 thanks to late goals from John Guidetti and Hugo Mallo.

The home fans turned their anger towards coach Gary Neville, chanting "Gary go now" after a third consecutive league defeat left the club 14th, six points above the relegation zone.

The Galicians capitalised on Athletic Bilbao's 2-1 defeat at Espanyol earlier on Sunday to move ahead of the Basques, who dropped to seventh.

Javier Eraso's first half goal put Ernesto Valverde's men in charge but quick strikes from Pape Diop and substitute Felipe Caicedo in the second half turned the game in Espanyol's favour.

They moved up to 12th, seven points above the drop zone.

(Reporting by Richard Martin, Editing by Alan Baldwin and Ken Ferris)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com