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#3 Messi was at it again
The incomparable Messi again rescued Barca and earned three points for them. He scored both the goals for Barca and now has 41 goals from 38 matches this season. He was not given much freedom by the Espanyol defenders throughout the match, but he kept making his mark with his deft touches, clever passes, and accurate shots.
Messi himself earned the free-kick in the 69th minute and scored from it as well. Sanchez failed to clear his innocuous goal-bound chip, and the ball went past the diving goalkeeper to give Barca the much-needed opening goal. Messi again scored in the 89th minute to increase the deficit and ensure yet another win for the Catalan giants.
Barca have a very good team overall but continue to depend on the talismanic Argentine to grind out wins against lowly oppositions. Messi has been sublime this season and remains the favorite to win the European Golden Shoe again.
