Messi seals title for Barcelona
Lionel Messi: Celebrates his title-winner
Lionel Messi struck a second-half winner against Atletico Madrid as Barcelona beat Real Madrid to the Primera Division title.
The Catalan side dominated for the majority of the first half but took until the 65th minute to open the scoring and clinch the three points needed to seal their 23rd Spanish crown with a game to go.
Barca had goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to thank for holding the hosts at bay as they held on in the second half, when efforts from Messi and Neymar could have instead doubled their margin of victory.
The home side tested Bravo early on but he managed to hold out Jose Gimenez's header from Koke's cross and it was almost all one-way traffic in the visitors' favour for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes.
Messi got a header on target after 11 minutes and again two minutes later, the second from just outside the six-yard box well saved by a diving Jan Oblak.
Barca came close again midway through the first half with Neymar sending his strike over and they continued to pile on the pressure, Messi's free-kick after 24 minutes the latest chance to come to nothing.
An animated Diego Simeone urged his side forward but Gabi fired his effort from just outside the 18-yard box wide of the mark.
Barca appealed for a penalty after Dani Alves went to ground just inside the box, an action that earned him a yellow card as a free-kick was awarded instead. Messi's powerful effort skimmed the top of the crossbar.
After some great build-up work, Barca could have taken the lead seven minutes before the break but Sergio Busquets fired his long-range shot wide as the visitors continued in search of a breakthrough.
Dani Alves tested Oblak in his side's last chance of the half, forcing the Slovenia international into a brilliant save as he pushed the ball over his bar.
The away side began to dominate as the second half got under way, but - down at the other end - Atletico appealed for handball against Andres Iniesta after the ball was fired into the bridge of his nose by Antoine Griezmann.
Godin got his head onto the end of Koke's corner moments later, sending his effort over the bar as the hosts began to create some chances of their ow, Fernando Torrres's shot from 12 yards safely collected by Bravo.
Tempers began to flare as the second half after Neymar was tripped by Gabi before limping back into action but Messi finally broke resistance after 65 minutes in what proved a defining moment.
The Argentina striker played a neat one-two with Pedro on the edge of the box before firing home from close range into the bottom corner - much to the delight of the travelling fans.
Moments later Neymar fired Iniesta's cross wide as Barca looked to double their score but the pace of the match slowed considerably as the minutes ticked down.
Simeone's men continued to press for an equaliser but Bravo did well to hold late efforts before Barca were awarded a free-kick just outside the box down at the other end, Messi curling his effort around the wall.
Real had taken the lead while Barca toiled but an eventua 4-1 win at Espanyol proved academic, Barcelona finishing on top for the seventh time in 11 years.
Source : http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11833/9854833/messi-seals-title-for-barcelona
No comments:
Post a Comment