Messi gets 500th career goal in Barca win

Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal to give Barcelona a dramatic 3-2 win over 10-man Real Madrid in the last minute of the “clasico” on Sunday, leaving the Spanish league title race wide open.

Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal for Barcelona to give the Catalan club a dramatic 3-2 win over 10man Real Madrid in the last minute of the “clasico” on Sunday in Madrid, leaving the Spanish league title race wide open.

Messi netted his milestone goal — his second of the night — with a low left-footed shot from inside the area after a cross by Jordi Alba two minutes into stoppage time.

The two rivals are level at the top on 75 points. Barcelona leads on the head-to-head tiebreaker but Madrid has six games left — one more than Barcelona.

It was the second consecutive win by Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, coming after a 4-0 rout last season that left Madrid in crisis and eventually led to the replacement of coach Rafa Benitez by Zinedine Zidane.

This year’s victory could keep Madrid from winning the league title for the first time since 2012, and give the Catalan club its third straight La Liga trophy.

It was another outstanding performance by Messi, who is the all-time leading scorer in the clasico with 23 goals.

He has scored 14 goals in his last 10 league matches, and is the competition’s leading scorer with 31 goals, seven more than teammate Luis Suarez. The Argentine playmaker has 47 goals with Barcelona in 46 games this season.

It was a thrilling match at the Bernabeu, with both goalkeepers having to work hard from the start.

Casemiro had put the hosts ahead from close range after Sergio Ramos struck the post in the 28th. Messi equalized five minutes later after evading two defenders inside the area after a pass by Ivan Rakitic for his first goal at the Bernabeu since 2014.

Messi also helped set up Barcelona’s goahead goal by Rakitic in the 73rd, a powerful left-footed shot from outside the area.

Arsenal advances

Alexis Sanchez ensured Arsenal’s stormy season will end with an FA Cup final after securing a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in extra time at Wembley Stadium.

Arsenal will play Chelsea on May 27 in its third FA Cup final in four seasons. The competition has provided a comfort blanket for Arsene Wenger as he has failed to deliver the Premier League trophy since 2004.

But with Arsenal languishing in seventh place in the Premier League, and set to miss out on the Champions League, the heat remains on the manager whose contract expires at the end of the season.