After defeating Paris Saint-Germain in a 3-1 score on Wednesday night for the Champions League quarterfinals, Barcelona had to forget about that match and worry more about their issue at La Liga. Barcelona went head to head against Valencia on Saturday afternoon and needed to win to continue in first place in La Liga and that is just what they did. Barcelona held Valencia to a 2-0 score as Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scored for the Catalan team.
Barcelona had come off a 3-1 score against PSG and had to put their focus back on La Liga as they had give away points last weekend against Sevilla FC. With a 2-0 score against Valencia, they were able to go up five points ahead of Real Madrid with Madrid just one game behind. Valencia has struggled lately in La liga and with this loss they might just have lost their hopes of being in the Champions League next season. Their only hope is to see Sevilla loss on Sunday but with the way that team has been playing it might be the end.
Suarez was able to get his 11th goal of the season as he got an early goal in the first half and Messi was able to get his 34th goal of the season and his 400th Barcelona goal of his career. Adriano got a start in the starting XI as Jordi Alba sat on the bench. Javier Mascherano played in the middle as Andres Iniesta is out with an injury and Ivan Rakitic also started in the bench.
As the match started Barcelona started off strong and did not wait even for the minute mark to hit as Suarez put Barcelona up 1-0 in 55 seconds. It all started with Gerard Pique as he found Xavi Hernandez, Hernandez to Sergio Busquets and then found Messi making a run. Messi went against Lucas Orban in which he beat him on the one on one and found Suarez on his right side. Suarez then went for goal and went past goalkeeper Diego Alves to make it 1-0.
In the 9th minute, Valencia was given a penalty when Pique and Rodrigo Moreno went at it and Moreno was brought down inside the box. Daniel Parejo stepped up to take the penalty and as the ref blew, Parejo went for it but Claudio Bravo stopped the ball from going in and kept the game at 1-0.
In the 64 minute, Messi took a free kick which beat the wall and nearly ended up in goal but instead hit the crossbar to keep the game at 1-0.
In the 93rd minute it was Messi who put Barcelona up 2-0. Messi was all on his own as Valencia got caught on the break. Messi went one on one against Diego and as he went for goal his shot was blocked but got the rebound to put it in the net and end the game with a high note. Messi celebrated by going behind the net and resting on the floor since the little genius had a rough day at the Camp Nou.
With this win, Barcelona looks to extend their lead in La Liga with only six games to go. With 78 points in the table, they are now two points ahead of Real Madrid who have 76 points. Barcelona faces PSG on Wednesday for the Champions League and then face Espanyol on Saturday. As for Valencia they face Granada on Monday and hope to stay alive for a Champions League spot next season.
The man of the match goes out Messi who was able to assist Suarez with his goal and then get his 400th goal of the season as well.
Photo by: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images