Messi ends his goal drought, Barca ends their winless streak.

Barca 2-1 Athletic Bilbao. The debt from the first leg defeat against Bilbao was settled, the hellish week of three consecutive losses in various competitions was put behind them, and more importantly, Barca found themselves still "alive" in the Liga title race, which is entering its crucial stage.

The battle at Camp Nou seemed poised to plunge Barca into disappointment once again when Bilbao took the lead early in the second half. Following a misplaced control by a home player, Aduriz unleashed a powerful low shot that beat Pinto.

But luck smiled on Barca. After several unsuccessful attempts by Pedro, Sanchez, and Messi (with one shot into the Bilbao net being ruled offside and a low left-footed shot from a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Iraizoz that narrowly missed the post), the home team scored the equalizer.

Alves advanced down the right wing and passed to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean striker missed his shot, but Alexis's inaccurate strike turned into a perfect assist for Pedro to tap in from close range, equalizing in the 71st minute. Just three minutes later, Messi took a low left-footed free kick from the edge of the penalty area, beating Iraizoz and securing a 2-1 victory for Barca.

That was Messi's first goal after three consecutive games without scoring and his 26th goal in La Liga. On the Pichichi table, Messi remains third behind Ronaldo (28 goals) and Diego Costa (27 goals), while in the La Liga standings, Barca temporarily moved up to second place, 4 points behind Atletico and 2 points ahead of Real Madrid (who have yet to play their 34th match).

According to Thethaovanhoa.vn