Lionel Messi scored a sublime last-minute free-kick to salvage a point for Barcelona and deny Villarreal a famous win on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Nicola Sansone fired the hosts ahead, a low angled finish after ex-Chelsea loan signing Alexandre Pato’s threaded pass.<\/p>\n
Messi hit a post and Barca were denied a penalty when Bruno handled a shot by the Argentina forward, before Messi’s brilliant set-piece goal.<\/p>\n
Barca stay third in the table and trail leaders Real Madrid by five points.<\/p>\n
Villarreal, who remain fifth in La Liga, had full-back Jaume Costa sent off close to full-time after a second yellow card.<\/p>\n
Damaging start to 2017 for Barca<\/p>\n
Despite Messi’s late heroics, this was a damaging result for Barcelona, who have played one more game than Real, in their first league game after the winter break.<\/p>\n
Luis Enrique is unlikely to remember his 150th game in charge of Barca for long, with his side sluggish for long periods.<\/p>\n
Luis Suarez and Neymar wasted good chances, while the visitors were caught out at the back as Villarreal scored after a slick counter.<\/p>\n
Barca were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply deep inside Villarreal’s half before Pato’s threaded pass found Sansone, who kept his composure to beat keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.<\/p>\n
Suarez remains on 99 goals for Barca after a frustrating match in which he was presented with several chances to score the landmark goal.<\/p>\n
Villarreal were getting ready to celebrate a first win in nine years against their opponents when Messi, who had been fouled by Bruno, found the top corner with an exquisite finish to rescue a point.<\/p>\n
The result leaves Real Madrid, 5-0 winners over Granada on Saturday, with a clear advantage over their bitter rivals.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lionel Messi scored a sublime last-minute free-kick to salvage a point for Barcelona and deny Villarreal a famous win on Sunday. Nicola Sansone fired the hosts ahead, a low angled finish after ex-Chelsea loan signing Alexandre Pato’s threaded pass. Messi hit a post and Barca were denied a penalty when Bruno handled a shot by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142],"tags":[564,1458],"yoast_head":"\n