Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi netted a second brace to seal a vital 3-2 La Liga win away at Valencia.
La Blaugrana have kept themselves right inside the title race thanks to a impressive late turnaround at the Estadio Mestalla.
Neither side were able to find a breakthrough before the half time whistle with the visitors feeling the pressure of keeping pace with their title rivals.
However, their task was made harder within minutes of the restart as Gabriel Paulista nodded home after Marc Ter Stegen missed his catch from a corner.
But, Ronald Koeman‘s side refused to be deterred as Messi hauled them level on 56 minutes.
The Argentinian star was denied by Jasper Cillessen from the penalty spot but he was alive to fire home the rebound after Cillessen denied Pedri.
That appeared to tip the balance in Barcelona’s favour as Antoine Griezmann put them 2-1 in front on the hour mark, tapping home after Cillessen kept out Frenkie De Jong‘s drive.
GOAL!Antoine Griezmann
Valencia 1-[2] Barcelona
63' pic.twitter.com/w4RE3yXjvF— John (@John63449183) May 2, 2021
And with Barcelona and Messi in the mood late on the Catalans talisman swerved home a trademark free kick to give them some breathing space in the final 20 minutes.
Lionel Messi scores his 50th free-kick for Barcelona 🤯 @brfootball
(via @ESbeINSPORTS)pic.twitter.com/EuoFXNThAw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 2, 2021
Carlos Soler fired home a late consolation for Los Che, to set up a tense finale, but in the end, Barcelona had enough to move back level with second place Real Madrid and two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
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