Cleaning up the Mess
> Messi to the rescue, but Barca lose ground on Madrid
BARCELONA’S poor start to 2017 continued as they lost further ground on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga despite a sensational last minute Lionel Messi freekick salvaging a 1-1 draw at Villarreal yesterday.
The Spanish champions lost their opening game of the year at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Thursday and now trail Real by five points having also played a game more.
Italian forward Nicola Sansone looked to have handed Villarreal a first win over Barca since 2008, but Messi’s late intervention denied the hosts on the day they announced a sponsorship deal to rename El Madrigal the Ceramic Stadium.
“It can’t be a positive analysis of the game because we needed the three points and I think we did enough to deserve the three points,” Barca boss Luis Enrique told Spanish TV station Movistar.
However, Enrique insisted Barca remain very much in the title hunt despite their chances now depending on a Madrid collapse in the second half of the season.
“There is still half the season to go and I am sure we will have the chance to fight for the league,” he added.
Barca dominated possession throughout, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against the tightest defence in La Liga.
Indeed it was the hosts who enjoyed the best opportunity of the opening half when former Barca midfielder Jonathan dos Santos blasted over when unmarked at the back post from a flowing counterattack.
Messi came close in unusual fashion as his thumping header from a corner was tipped over by Sergio Asenjo before Luis Suarez’s fiercely hit drive was also too close to the Villarreal ‘keeper.
Another Villarreal counter-attack caught the Spanish champions cold at the start of the second-half as Alexandre Pato’s perfectly weighted pass picked out Sansone and his effort back across goal nestled in the far corner.
Barca had a fine chance to immediately respond when a quickly taken Messi freekick freed Neymar inside the area, but again the Brazilian’s effort lacked the power or accuracy to unduly trouble Asenjo.
The visitors had huge claims for a penalty waved away when Villarreal captain Bruno deflected Messi’s effort over with an outstretched hand and seconds later Messi smashed the inside the post with a fine effort from the edge of the box.
The controversial penalty calls were evened up as referee Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva was also unmoved when Sansone’s shot struck Javier Mascherano’s hand inside the Barca box.
And Messi finally broke Villarreal’s resistence as he was fouled on th edge of the area and stepped up to arrow a freekick perfectly into the top corner.
Villarreal ended with 10 men as Jaume Costa saw a second yellow card deep into stoppage time, but there was barely time to restart the game before the referee blew for fulltime and arguably brought the curtain down on Barca’s title defence.
Elsewhere, Celta Vigo moved into the top half of the table as Iago Aspas moved level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 11 La Liga goals for the season in a 3-1 win over Malaga.
Athletic Bilbao remain seventh after being held 0-0 in a Basque derby at home to Alaves.
And Real Betis moved nine points clear of the relegation zone thanks to a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Leganes. – AFP LIGUE 1 leaders Nice crashed out of the last 64 of the French Cup yesterday after a 2-1 defeat at struggling Lorient, while Marseille won 2-1 at Toulouse after extratime. Nice finished 2016 two points clear of Monaco at the top of the table but suffered a premature cup exit in Brittany where second-half goals from Jeremie Aliadiere and Walid Mesloub wiped out Alassane Plea’s opener. “We’re disappointed because we dominated in the first half. They changed their system in the second half because they saw it was too easy for us,” said Nice coach Lucien Favre. “We should have made it 2-0 earlier. And then they equalise and it revives them obviously, but that’s how it is.” Record 10-time champions Marseille overcame top-flight rivals Toulouse with Remy Cabella scoring twice – the second on 117 minutes – either side of a Jimmy Durmaz strike for the hosts. Rudi Garcia’s side will face five-time winners Lyon in the next round after Alexandre Lacazette sparked a 5-0 rout of Montpellier as the floodgates opened with just four minutes gone at Parc OL. Rennes throttled amateurs Biarritz 6-0 to set up a last-32 clash with holders Paris Saint-Germain. Bordeaux needed a late goal from Brazilian forward Malcom to see off second division Clermont 1-0, but Metz were dumped out 2-0 away to Ligue 2 promotion chasers Lens. – AFP