La Liga Review: Late Messi Cameo Preserves Barcelona’s Unbeaten Run

Lionel Messi made a brief appearance as he helped his Barcelona side preserve their unbeaten league run with a 2-2 draw at Sevilla in their Spanish La Liga Matchday 30 clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday night.

Franco Vazquez and Luis Muriel had scored either side of halftime to give Sevilla a 2-0 lead before the aforementioned Messi was introduced into the game as a second half substitute for Ousmane Dembele.

The Argentine had missed his country’s games during the international break as a result of injury but he was fit to start the game on the bench.

His introduction sparked a lethargic Barcelona side into life and that led to two goals in a minute through Luis Suarez and Messi for a 2-2 scoreline enough to extend Barcelona’s unbeaten run to 37.

Ernesto Valverde’s side also extend their lead to 12 points ahead of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid having played a game more and are now 13 points away from arch rivals and champions Real Madrid.

The Los Merengues had earlier closed the gap to 12 points with a 3-0 win at Las Palmas courtesy goals from Gareth Bale (2 including a penalty) and Karim Benzema (penalty).

Matchday 30 Results:

Girona 1-1 Levante

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Celta Vigo

Las Palmas 0-3 Real Madrid

Sevilla 2-2 Barcelona

Standings

1. Barcelona 76

2. Atletico Madrid 64

3. Real Madrid 63

4. Valencia 59