Late Messi penalty seals dramatic Barca win

October 23, 2016 02:33 am | Updated December 02, 2016 11:01 am IST - BARCELONA

DECISIVE MOMENT: Lionel Messi held his nerve and slotted past Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves.

DECISIVE MOMENT: Lionel Messi held his nerve and slotted past Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Lionel Messi squeezed home a stoppage-time penalty to grab a thrilling 3-2 win for champion Barcelona in a controversial La Liga match at Valencia on Saturday.

Talisman Messi scored against Valencia for the 10th season in a row to put the visitors ahead in the 22nd minute although teammate Luis Suarez was in an offside position and obstructing the view of goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Earlier, Barca captain Andres Iniesta was carried off on a stretcher due to a knee injury while Sergio Busquets was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card before the break.

Valencia turned the game around in four second-half minutes, Munir El Haddadi equalising against his parent club and Rodrigo Moreno putting the hosts ahead in the 56th.

Suarez lashed the ball home to pull Barca level and after Nani had missed a gilt-edged chance for Valencia, the Uruguayan won a penalty in the dying seconds that Messi sneaked just under the grasp of Alves.

In the Premier League, North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were both held to goalless draws on Saturday.

The results: Saturday: La Liga: Espanyol 3 (Perez 64, Piatti 73, Baptistao 90+2) drew with Eibar 3 (Enrich 23, Reyes 27-og, Kike 44); Valencia 2 (El Haddadi 52, Rodrigo 56) lost to Barcelona 3 (Messi 22, 90+4-pen, Luis Suarez 62).

Friday: Osasuna 1 (Torres 48) lost to Real Betis 2 (Joaquin 19, Gutierrez 90+1)

EPL: Arsenal 0 drew with Middlesbrough 0; Bournemouth 0 drew with Tottenham 0; Burnley 2 (Vokes 39, Arfield 90) bt Everton 1 (Bolasie 58); Hull 0 lost to Stoke 2 (Shaqiri 26, 50); Leicester 3 (Musa 42, Okazaki 63, Fuchs 80) bt Crystal Palace 1 (Cabaye 85); Swansea 0 drew up Watford 0; West Ham 1 (Reid 90+4) bt Sunderland 0; Liverpool 2 (Mane 20, Coutinho 35) bt West Brom 1 (McAuley 81).

Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen 0 lost to Hoffenheim 3 (Demirbay 15, Wagner 49, Zuber 60); Hertha Berlin 2 (Ibisevic 13, Stark 74) bt Cologne 1 (Modeste 65); Ingolstadt 3 (Cohen 6, Lezcano 24, 60) drew with Borussia Dortmund 3 (Aubameyang 59, Ramos 69, Pulisic 90+1); Darmstadt 3 (Ben-Hatira 25, Kleinheisler 68, Sirigu 76) bt VfL Wolfsburg 1 (Gomez 60); Freiburg 2 (Philipp 66, Petersen 78) bt Augsburg 1 (Altintop 84).

Friday: Hamburg 0 lost to Eintracht Frankfurt 3 (Holtby 35-og, Tarashaj 60, Seferovic 69).

Serie A: Sampdoria 2 (Muriel 12, Izzo 47-og) bt Genoa 1 (Rigoni 24).

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