La Liga: Goals galore as late Messi strike sinks Villarreal

Sport360 staff 04:58 02/02/2015
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  • Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring the winner against Villarreal in La Liga at the Camp Nou.

    Lionel Messi scored a brilliant winner as Barcelona twice fought from behind to beat Villarreal 3-2 in an entertainment-packed clash at the Nou Camp.

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    Villarreal, unbeaten in any competition since the start of November, were briefly on course for their first win over Barca in 12 attempts thanks to goals from Denis Cheryshev and Luciano Vietto, which sandwiched a Neymar equaliser.

    However, Barca then struck twice in quick succession during a frenetic start to the second half to record an eighth successive win in league and cup, Rafinha drawing the teams level before Messi curled home a stunning 20-yard strike.

    Villarreal pushed for an equaliser as the game swept from one end to another, but Barca held firm to remain a point behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

    Sunday's encounter bore more than a passing similarity to Barca's Copa del Rey win over Atletico Madrid in midweek, where Luis Enrique's men also twice trailed before snatching a 3-2 win thanks to two quickfire goals.

    On that occasion Barca found themselves behind inside a minute, but it should have been the Catalan side who took the lead on Sunday as they dominated the opening exchanges.

    On-loan Liverpool striker Iago Aspas scored a last-minute winner to give Sevilla a thrilling 3-2 victory over Espanyol, who played the entire second half with 10 men after goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was sent off.

    Christian Stuani put visitors Espanyol ahead from the penalty spot but the hosts levelled through a stunning strike from Diogo Figueiras and then Vitolo tapped home from close range to put Unai Emery's side ahead before the break.

    Casilla was then handed his marching orders in the 40th minute but Sevilla were unable to capitalise on their man advantage in the second half and were left stunned by Victor Sanchez's 77th-minute equaliser.

    However, Aspas eventually got the reward for his tireless performance by scoring the decisive goal in what was his first league start for the club.

    Sevilla move one point clear of fellow Champions League chasers Valencia and into fourth in the Primera Division table, while Espanyol remain in ninth.

    Aritz Aduriz (r) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Levante.

    A brace from striker Aritz Aduriz saw Athletic Bilbao record a first league victory in over two months at the expense of bottom club Levante.

    The Copa del Rey quarter-finalists were without a La Liga win since taking all three points at Getafe on Nov. 29, but Aduriz's double in a 2-0 success moves Ernesto Valverde's side away from the relegation zone ahead of next weekend's clash with Barcelona.

    Levante remain rooted to the foot of the table with their own winless streak in the league now stretching back to Nov. 23, with four defeats from their last five league outings.

    A solitary goal by Edgar Mendez saw Almeria pick up a vital 1-0 victory over fellow Primera Division strugglers Getafe.

    The winger broke the deadlock in the 44th minute and the goal proved enough to decide an exciting and highly contested encounter which saw both sides finish with 10 men, with Almeria forward Tomer Hemed following Getafe's Sergio Escudero down the tunnel after being shown a second yellow card.

    The win was Almeria's first home victory of the season and sees them climb out of the relegation zone and move within one point of Getafe, who lie 15th in the table.

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