Barca's Messi grabs late winner
Source: Agencies |
March 4, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LIONEL Messi missed a slew of chances before squeezing home a late strike to give Barcelona a 1-0 win at third-placed Valencia in La Liga on Wednesday and stretch the champion's lead over Real Madrid to 10 points.
With Barcelona looking like it might drop points for only the fourth time this season, the Argentina forward struck a low shot in the 77th minute at the Mestalla that spun just inside the post off the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Messi's league leading 27th goal lifted Barcelona to 71 points from 26 matches. It has now won 12 of 13 away games, drawing last month at Sporting Gijon in its only slip-up on the road. It is also unbeaten in its last 20 away matches, beating a La Liga record set by Basque club Real Sociedad at the end of the 1970s.
Real Madrid can trim the gap to seven points with a win at Malaga, when the Andalusian club's coach Manuel Pellegrini returns to the Bernabeu to face the man who replaced him at Real at the end of last season, Jose Mourinho.
Another of Pellegrini's former clubs, Villarreal, breathed life into its bid for a place in next season's Champions League earlier when Giuseppe Rossi struck to give it a 1-0 home win over promoted Hercules.
With Barcelona looking like it might drop points for only the fourth time this season, the Argentina forward struck a low shot in the 77th minute at the Mestalla that spun just inside the post off the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Messi's league leading 27th goal lifted Barcelona to 71 points from 26 matches. It has now won 12 of 13 away games, drawing last month at Sporting Gijon in its only slip-up on the road. It is also unbeaten in its last 20 away matches, beating a La Liga record set by Basque club Real Sociedad at the end of the 1970s.
Real Madrid can trim the gap to seven points with a win at Malaga, when the Andalusian club's coach Manuel Pellegrini returns to the Bernabeu to face the man who replaced him at Real at the end of last season, Jose Mourinho.
Another of Pellegrini's former clubs, Villarreal, breathed life into its bid for a place in next season's Champions League earlier when Giuseppe Rossi struck to give it a 1-0 home win over promoted Hercules.
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