Barcelona vs Valencia match report: Lionel Messi scores his 400th Barca goal after Luis Suarez early opener
Barcelona 2 Valencia 0
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Your support makes all the difference.Lionel Messi hit his 400th career goal for Barcelona deep into stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win for the La Liga leaders over a Valencia side that will rue their missed chances.
Luis Suarez continued his lethal form, the Uruguay striker hitting with a low shot inside the area after being set up by Messi with less than a minute gone. His goal followed the midweek double that helped clinch a 3-1 lead in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Paris St-Germain.
Messi scored on a counter-attack deep into added time for his landmark 400th goal, knocking the ball into the net after his first shot was saved by Diego Alves.
The victory kept Barça two points clear of Real Madrid, who beat Malaga 3-1, while Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including a spectacular overhead kick, to give third-placed Atletico sea 2-1 win at struggling Deportivo La Coruña that strengthened their grip on third place.
Valencia had missed a golden chance to equalise in the 10th minute when Dani Parejo’s penalty was saved by Claudio Bravo after Gerard Pique had barged into Rodrigo Moreno.
Valencia’s Paco Alcacer hit a post as Barcelona hung on but in a second half which was played at a slower tempo Messi struck the woodwork with a free-kick.
“These are moments when you can get involved and save the situation,” Bravo said. “We were up against a very strong side in all areas of the pitch and it followed a match in Paris where we had to put in a lot of work.
“Sometimes you have to do what you can to win a game when your game isn’t at its best. We will keep going with the same approach.”
They faced a solid Valencia side that were unbeaten in 10 matches and their heads did not drop after the setback of Suarez scoring so early. They pressed for an equaliser but lacked a cutting edge against a defence in which Pique did not look comfortable.
Aside from the penalty. which Parejo struck too close to Bravo, Valencia had lots of chances and much of the time Barça caused problems for themselves by giving the ball away cheaply.
However, the home side looked tighter in the second half and Messi sealed the win with Valencia caught out pushing forward.
Barcelona: (4-3-3) Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Adriano (Rakitic, h-t); Xavi (Roberto, 80), Mascherano, Busquets; Messi, Suarez (Pedro, 65), Neymar.
Valencia: (4-3-3) Diego Alves; Barragan, Mustafi, Otamendi, Orban (Gaya, h-t); Parejo, Fuego, Gomes; Feghouli (Cancelo, 67), Alcacer Negredo, 74), Rodrigo.
Referee: José Luis González González
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