Barcelona vs Valencia AFP
Lionel Messi bagged a brace but it was not enough to lead Barcelona back from a two-goal deficit against Valencia as the league leaders were held to a 2-2 draw on Saturday evening at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
Los Che are always a difficult opponent for Barcelona and Saturday was no different, as a strike from Kevin Gameiro and a penalty conversion from Dani Parejo gave Marcelino’s men a 0-2 lead in the first half.
Messi would lead the Barcelona rally by first scoring a penalty of his own, before firing in a spectacular left-footed strike for a share of the points. The results also leaves the door open for Atletico Madrid to shave Barcelona’s lead atop the table down to three points.
With a Copa del Rey Clasico on the horizon, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde elected to rest defenders Jordi Alba and Clement Lenglet and midfielder Arthur. Also, with Sergio Busquets suspended, there was more shuffling in midfield with Arturo Vidal and youngster Carles Alena getting the nod, while Semedo and Thomas Vermaelen slotted into the back four.
Even before the fans could warm their seats, Valencia nearly had the game’s first goal when Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was forced into a save on a Parejo shot and then the Denis Cheryshev follow-up hitting the post.
Barcelona began to impose their will but were lacking the final touch. Valencia’s defence had something to do with that, too. Parejo did well to dispossess Messi and it led to a counterattack spearheaded by Rodrigo, who slipped a pass into Gameiro and a fine finish from the Frenchman made it 0-1 to Valencia.
Barcelona’s rocky start would only get worse as a foolish push from behind by Sergi Roberto on Wass made for a straightforward penalty call for referee Undiano Mallenco. Parejo stepped up and calmly converted the spot kick to double Los Che’s advantage to 0-2.
The second Valencia score increased the urgency for Barcelona and Messi was able to cut the deficit back to one 1-2 when he converted a penalty after Lato brought down Semedo in the area.
The hosts were eager to pull level before the break and Sergi Roberto was inches away from making up for his previous mistake when he fired a rocket off the post, followed by a one-timed left-footer from Messi that missed high after an impeccably lofted pass from Ivan Rakitic.
Valverde made his first change at half-time taking off Semedo, who was arguably the best player for Barcelona during the first 45 minutes, and bringing on Alba. Inside a minute after the re-start Barcelona threatened as Neto had to sprawl to his left to deny Messi.
The Barcelona attack was coming in waves, but Valencia were set up in an air-tight defence and ready to spring on a counter when the opportunity presented itself. That happened on the hour mark and it took a big stop from Ter Stegen to deny Valencia a third. Moments later Denis connected with Rodrigo but the finish was off from the latter.
Valencia would rue the miss as Messi dusted off his magic wand and produced a sensational goal when he used a pair of Valencia defenders as a screen and curled in a left-footed strike past Neto to bring Barcelona level 2-2.
Messi’s second brought Valencia back out of their defensive shell, making for a wide-open final 15 minutes, yet neither side could find the winner to complete an entertaining 90 minutes of football.
Match Sheet:
2.- Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Semedo (Jordi Alba, min. 46), Pique, Vermaelen, Sergi Roberto, Rakitic, Alena (Arthur, min. 66), Arturo Vidal, Coutinho (Malcom, min. 84), Messi, Luis Suarez.
2.- Valencia: Neto, Lato, Gabriel Paulista, Garay, Piccini, Coquelin (Kondogbia, min. 72), Parejo, Wass, Cheryshev, Gameiro (Ferran Torres, min. 40), Rodrigo Moreno (Santi Mina, min. 79).
Goals: 0-1, min. 24: Gameiro; 0-2, min. 32: Parejo (p); 1-2, min. 39: Messi (p); 2-2, min. 64: Messi.
Referee: Undiano Mallenco (Navarre).
Yellow cards: Sergio Roberto (Min. 31) for Barcelona, Rakitic (Min. 45+2) for Barcelona, Jordi Alba (Min. 91) for Barcelona.
Red cards: None.
Stadium: Camp Nou.
Attendance: 76.789.