Messi ends his goal drought, Barca ends his win drought

Barca 2-1 Athletic Bilbao. The debt of defeat to Bilbao in the first leg was paid off, the hellish week with 3 consecutive defeats in all competitions was put behind them and more importantly, Barca found themselves still "alive" in the Liga championship race that was entering a boiling stage.

The battle at Camp Nou seemed to have left Barca in disappointment again when Bilbao opened the scoring early in the second half. From a home player's failed control of the ball, Aduriz made a low, tricky shot past Pinto.

But luck smiled on Barca. After many unsuccessful attempts by Pedro, Sanchez and Messi (with a shot into the Bilbao net being ruled offside and a low left-footed shot in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Iraizoz that went just wide of the post), the home team equalized.

Alves advanced on the right wing and passed to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean striker missed a shot, but Alexis's inaccurate shot turned into a pass for Pedro to tap in from close range to equalize in the 71st minute. Just three minutes later, Messi's left-footed free kick from the edge of the box sent the ball into the net of Iraizoz, sealing a 2-1 victory for Barca.

It was Messi's first goal after 3 consecutive matches without scoring and his 26th goal in Liga. On the Pichichi rankings, Messi is still ranked 3rd after Ronaldo (28 goals) and Diego Costa (27 goals) while on the Liga rankings, Barca has temporarily risen to 2nd with 4 points less than Atletico and 2 points more than Real Madrid (not yet played round 34).

According to Thethaovanhoa.vn