Barcelona recorded a 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia courtesy of some Lionel Messi magic. Manchester City loanee Eliaquim Mangala gave Valencia the lead in the 29th minute before Luis Suarez equalised for the hosts only a couple of minutes later. Mangala was then sent off for bringing down Suarez inside the box and Messi calmly slotted the penalty to make it 2-1.
Barcelona loanee Munir El Haddadi then equalised for the home side with the last kick of the first half. However, Luis Enrique’s side made their numerical advantage count as they piled the pressure on the Mestalla outfit in search of the winner.
Messi came up with a brilliant run and an ever better finish with his right foot to make it 3-2 in the 52nd minute. But Barcelona still looked vulnerable on the counter and it wasn’t until the 89th minute that they were able to seal the win when Andre Gomes tapped home Neymar’s cut-back, scoring his first-ever goal for the Blaugrana – against his former side – to complete the rout.
The win helped Barcelona close the gap on Real Madrid to only 2 points, albeit having played a game more.
Twitter, as you would expect, went wild after Messi’s magical performance. Here are the best tweets:
Some Leo Messi stats to begin with....
We truly are not worthy....
#GOAT?
Me and you cannot be... He can!
Poor Diego Alves!
Ouch!
And then the rest....
#MSN
Messi wanted an extended break, so he decided to skip the next game!
Nice attempt but those stats are incorrect!
Some Neymar magic to cap things off!
