Lionel Messi ties Xavi Hernandezs record as Barcelona cuts Atleticos lead
Posted March 16th, 2021, 10:34 AM IST
For his 767th match, Messi was honored by Barcelona with a large image behind one of the goals showing him embracing Xavi as the players looked forward and pointed upward. The banner included the words “767 matches” and “touching the sky.” “It’s incredible,” Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said. “His impact on this team is enormous. It’s amazing what he has done for this club up until now.” Antoine Griezmann and Óscar Mingueza also scored at the Camp Nou Stadium as the Catalan club won its fourth straight league match to increase the pressure on leader Atlético Madrid.
Atlético, seeking its first league title since 2014, had a comfortable lead until recently, having won only two of its last six league games. It was held to 0-0 at Getafe on Saturday.
Diego Simeone’s team will visit Barcelona in May.
“We always said we wouldn’t give up,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri González said. “We have a good squad that can keep fighting for this title and we have momentum on our side.” Barcelona, coming off elimination by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16, was in control from the start on Monday.
Messi scored in each half for his 130th double in the league. He opened the scoring with a shot into the top corner after a nifty one-touch to clear a defender just outside the area in the 13th minute, then closed the scoring with another shot from outside the area in the 90th.
The Argentine playmaker has 21 league goals, three more than Atlético’s Luis Suárez at the top of the scoring list.
Barcelona kept pressing and nearly added to the lead when Jordi Alba hit the crossbar in the 33rd, and a couple of minutes later Griezmann added his goal with a well-struck curling shot into the top corner past Huesca goalkeeper Álvaro Fernández.
Huesca pulled one back through a penalty kick earned after a breakaway in first-half stoppage time, converted by forward Rafa Mir.
Then Mingueza scored his first goal for Barcelona with a header off a cross by Messi in the 53rd.
Huesca, which has won only one of its last six matches, stayed four points from safety.
- BATC: Indian women’s team reaches maiden final with 3-2 win over Japan
- India defeat England by 106 runs to level five-Test series 1-1
- FIR against gaming site, FB page as Tendulkar raises concerns over his deepfake video
- Telangana Sailors Shine at National Sailing Championships, Bag Medals
- Inaugural Edition of Indian Street Premier League to Begin from March 2
- Thrilled to welcome Hardik back home to Mumbai Indians, says Nita Ambani
- Techie dies of heart attack as India loses to Australia in World Cup final
- Carlos Alcaraz set to make ATP finals debut in Turin
- Pandya had hurt his left ankle while fielding of his own bowling in the game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19
- Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek win their WTA Finals opening matches in straight sets
- Berlin to Host Germany's First Major WWE
- Para Asian Games: Gold rush continues as Deepthi Jeevanji clinches gold in women’s 400m-T20 final
- Indian cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi passes away
- CWC 2023: After big ton, Warner credits IPL for success in ODIs
- India-Australia T20 set to dazzle Visakhapatnam
More Sports News
- Vijay Sethupathi’s heartwarming selfie with elderly voter goes viral
- ‘aha’ unveils promo for ‘Sarkaar Season 4’ featuring Sudigali Sudheer as host
- Record rains in UAE flood Dubai International Airport, disrupt travels
- Akshay Kumar joins Vishnu Manchu’s ‘Kannappa’ shoot in Hyderabad
- Suhana Khan shares joyful photos with Ananya Panday after KKR victory
- Kartik Aaryan says he’s ready for love, asks Neha Dhupia to find someone for him
- Indian film stars extend Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, and Navreh wishes
- Mrunal Thakur honored for ‘Hi Nanna’ performance, details inside
- Prithviraj-starrer ‘The Goat Life’ rakes it in: Rs 100 cr in 9 days
- Rashmika Mandanna’s ‘Srivalli’ takes center stage in Pushpa 2: The Rule poster drop
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(): http:// wrapper is disabled in the server configuration by allow_url_fopen=0
Filename: views/newsdetails.php
Line Number: 29
Backtrace:
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(http://www.indiaaffiliates.in/ads.php?size=300X250): failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found
Filename: views/newsdetails.php
Line Number: 29
Backtrace:
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once