Valencia 2-3 Barcelona: 5 talking points as Lionel Messi double lifts Catalans to important victory | La Liga 2020-21

Barcelona came from behind to secure an important 3-2 victory over Valencia at the Mestalla as the La Liga title race heats up.

A brace from Lionel Messi on either side of an Antoine Griezmann goal canceled out Gabriel Paulista's opener, before Carlos Soler reduced the deficit with a peach of a strike.

It was turning out to be another disappointing night for the Catalans against Los Che, whom they hadn't beaten in their previous six games, following a lackluster first-half which ended goalless.

However, the home side lost the plot after the break, starting by conceding a penalty which Messi initially missed, but scored in the follow-up, before he converted a superb free-kick on the coattail of Greizmann's tap-in goal.

With the score now 3-1 in their favor, the game was effectively over, though Soler threatened to make a comeback with an unstoppable 30-yard pile-driver in the closing moments.

Barcelona managed to hold on for the remaining 10 minutes or so and kept their flailing title hopes alive with a nervy victory.

Here are the major talking points from the Mestella:

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#1 Messi's free kick prowess a lot stronger than his penalties

Messi has now scored 50 free-kicks in his career. FIFTY!

It's one of football's great ironies that the world's best player can score some insane goals but somehow struggle with penalties, having missed another one tonight.

Even though Messi made up for it by knocking it in following mayhem inside the box which saw Valencia fail to clear their lines, it will still go down as a penalty miss from the Barcelona captain, the 29th of his career!

However, a few minutes later, he dispatched a sublime freekick, which albeit took a deflection off the upright before crashing into the bottom corner, demonstrating his prowess from set-pieces, which is clearly much better than his ability from 12 yards.

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#2 Toni Lato's naivety allows Barca to come back into the game

The penalty incident allowed Messi to fire Barcelona level

Valencia defender Toni Lato conceded the penalty with a ridiculous handball that opened the doors for Barcelona to make a comeback. Even though Messi squandered the ensuing penalty with a limp effort which Cillessen saved, their failure to clear the danger allowed the Argentine to make up for the miss to tap in the equalizer.

It spurred Barcelona on as the visitors were laboring their way through the game until then, and only went on to build on that momentum thereafter, pushing more bodies forward and catching Valencia off guard with quick passes.

Indeed, the Catalans scored two more in the next 12 minutes, effectively ending the match as a contest.

#3 Was ter Stegen obstructed during Valencia's opener?

Valencia's first goal was controversial as ter Stegen seemed to have been fouled

Eyebrows were raised after Valencia's opening goal as Marc-Andre ter Stegen looked to have been blocked in goal. Replays clearly showed Thierry Correia obstructing the German when the corner was played in which caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

The referee consulted the video assistant referees before allowing the goal to stand, but it sparked a controversy over whether it should've really been a goal. It's not clear whether Correia fouled ter Stegen or if the latter went down too easily.

It's a really close call and one that's open to interpretations.

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#4 Soler scores a 'goal of the season' contender

Soler executed the most audacious strike you'll see in La Liga this season

We've seen goals like this before but it's still something extraordinary and one that will be discussed with abandon while deciding on the goal of the season.

Christian Oliva pounced on a loose ball from Ilaix Moriba and squared it to Soler, who audaciously unleashed a 35-yard howitzer that crashed into the back of the net, leaving Barcelona goalkeeper ter Stegen with no chance.

Absolutely stunning. A surefire contender for the best goal award.

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#5 All eyes on Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

Barcelona will face the last test of their title ambitions

Barcelona survived a late scare to end their winless run against Valencia. A sigh of relief, right? No! Up next for them are leaders Atletico Madrid, a crunch game which could potentially decide the course of the 2020/21 league title.

Should the Catalans lose, their ambitions will be put paid to. Should they draw, it'll open up a chance for arch-rivals Real Madrid to take pole position. So anything but a victory would be catastrophic for Barcelona.

It's now or never.