EIBAR, SPAIN (REUTERS) - Barcelona captain and La Liga top scorer Lionel Messi rounded off a spectacular season by netting twice in a 2-2 draw away to Eibar in the champions’ final game on Sunday (May 19), taking his tally to a remarkable 36 league goals.
Eibar went ahead in the 20th minute with a strike from Barca’s on-loan midfielder Marc Cucurella which squirmed under keeper Jasper Cillessen but Messi levelled in the 31st after sneaking into the box to meet a pass from Arturo Vidal.
Messi struck again a minute later, racing through the middle unchallenged to latch on to a pass from Ivan Rakitic and calmly chip the outstretched keeper Marko Dmitrovic.
But Eibar’s Pablo de Blasis levelled right before halftime with a superb one-touch strike from long range after the ball fell into his path following a desperate header away from Cillessen, who looked in shaky form ahead of next week’s Copa del Rey final against Valencia.
“When you have nothing at stake you are always less keen in a game, in the end we drew but I think we have ended the season well,†said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.
“We have been champions for a while now, we were very consistent throughout the campaign. We had a few difficulties early in the season, but we overcame them.†Malcom and Gerard Pique missed second-half chances for the champions while Cucurella spurned an even better opportunity to snatch a winner for Eibar, who have still never managed to beat Barca in the top flight.
Messi had a difficult chance to score again and complete a hat-trick but sent his shot well over the bar.
The Argentine still finished the campaign as La Liga’s top scorer for a third year in a row, the first player to do so since Hugo Sanchez of Real Madrid in 1987.
He also joined the late former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra as the only players in the league’s history to be top scorer six times.
Messi scored 15 goals more than his nearest challengers, Barca team mate Luis Suarez and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema who both netted 21 times.
Barca, who clinched an eighth title in 11 seasons with three games to spare, finished the campaign on 87 points, 11 clear of runners-up Atletico Madrid and 19 ahead of Real Madrid in third.
Their focus now turns to beating Valencia in next week’s Cup final in Seville to complete a second consecutive domestic double.
Their season, however, is still likely to be overshadowed by their Champions League semi-final elimination to Liverpool.
How Reds learned from Man City - and what Klopp said after defeat Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now "When you lose games you analyse them more than when you
Alexis Sanchez came back to haunt Arsenal as the Chilean opened the scoring in Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win on Friday to maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100 percent record as
Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Man Utd maintain perfect record
Spurs should drop Lloris for prime 4, says Jenas. a must-win match with the membership having taken just one out of 15 factors from their final 5 league video
Ex-Spurs man says Lloris should be dropped now… even for
Football: Man United's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea, Liverpool matches MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for Monday's FA Cup clash at Chelsea with both sidelined for up to three weeks after picking up injuries during Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester United's Martial Lingard to miss Chelsea Liverpool
That is part of football." File photo: Anfield stadium is home of Liverpool Football Club one of the most successful English Premier League football clubs. Image: shutterstock. Liverpool could end a 29-year wait for the league title if they can hold on until the end of the season and Klopp knows the club's fans are likely to be feeling tense.
Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under pressure
Tampines Rovers Football Club (nicknamed the Stags) are a professional association football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that play in the S.League. Kadir Yahaya joins Tampines Rovers as an adviser. A guide to JSSL, the football academy which
Tampines | World News
Read ⠀⠀026; A QUEEN IN THE MAKING from the story 𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑬. 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭. by NASASTAN (𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒂) with
Adam Lambert Isn't Interested In Making New Queen Music
'It is not scary to go there' - Pep Guardiola says Man City players no longer fear going to Old Trafford Independent.ie Pep Guardiola believes Old Trafford is no longer scary for Manchester City.
Old Trafford no longer a 'scary' place to visit - Guardiola
Corrected: Hazard marks milestone with early goal to help
Where Next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid Have an Itch to Scratch? Tuesday, 1 January, 2019 - 08:15 Former Machester United manager Jose Mourinho.
Where Next for José Mourinho as Real Madrid Have an Itch to
ry to find a. There's talk of sleeping this afternoon instead of braving the cold weather at the football. game, but others are. get-ting in the spirit. stay tuned, and be back with halftime
Body embodiment: Symbolic Interaction And the Sociology of
Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's
The Norwegian Town Where the Sun Doesn't Rise - The Atlantic
Tigers riding high Balestier Khalsa have extended their sponsorship with American carmaker Jeep, announcing yesterday a new "six-figure" one-year deal, the club's biggest to date. Balestier's jerseys are jointly sponsored by Lotto and sporting goods chain Weston.
No. 2 Clemson Tigers riding high as it hosts Boston College
0 comments:
Post a Comment