Barcelona, the defending La Liga champions, were saved from the blushes by Lionel Messi’s last-minute penalty against Leganes that took the game to a 2-1 score tally, in favour of the hosts at Camp Nou.
Initially, Barca looked like a side desperate to respond after the humiliating result in Paris and it was hardly a surprise to see Messi taking the matters in his hands. Just for minutes into the game, Luis Suarez received a left flank from Neymar and delivered a perfect cross of his right foot to Messi, who tapped in from close range, giving no chance to Lago to stall the attempt.
However, Barcelona then fluttered between attacking vigorously and failed attempts throughout the first half, giving Leganes several good chances, which should have been more than they had expected.
Even after the break, Camp Nou waited for Barca to strike but Ter Stegen error gave Leganes’ Unai Lopez a chance to level in the 71st minute. Sergi Roberto was robbed off in the mid-field and Darwin Machis’ awareness gave Lopez the ball at the edge of the box. The latter, with his controlled effort, slipped the ball under the outstretched right leg of Ter Stegen.
Andres Iniesta ultimately rescued Barca soon after he entered in the 80th minute, becoming the only the second player to appear in the 400th league game for Barca. His introduction in the squad made the defence somewhat resistant to Leganes attack and the visitors, in-desperation, fouled Neymar in the 90th minute, giving Messi another chance to save his team from complete humiliation with a penalty, which the striker slotted straight at the back of the nets.
The scoresheet reflected Barcelona 2-1 Leganes at the final whistle and despite winning at home after the 4-0 loss against PSG in Champions League round of 16, Luis Enrique’s strategies will be questioned by the fans, as what we have been seeing at the back, is the worst of Barcelona’s defence.
“When Barca lose faith, they look up to someone’s who 5’7”, that’s what fans are saying, however, Enrique’s term with the club has come under their trolling radar.
Name : Messi
Job: Saving Luis Enrique's job pic.twitter.com/J7B9uxwDUC
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) February 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/833439639654563840
https://twitter.com/MessiWorId/status/833435945349287936
https://twitter.com/infosmessi_/status/833440629657108485
https://twitter.com/MascheranoStats/status/833440278820290560
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/833435277481873408
And Then, There Were Trolls
Was Never Barcelona or Messi FC …. it was always referee FC
— Mjay (@itsMj7) February 19, 2017
The referee save Barcelona once again 💶💶💶💶💶💶💰💰💰💲💲💲💲💲💲
— Courtney Edwards (@ccedwards50) February 19, 2017
When #Barcelona is not winning till min. 90
– the referee: call me maybe pic.twitter.com/mxuwH2jih9— Ahmed AbdelWahab (@Mados93) February 19, 2017
Lol, the referee did his thing for Barcelona 🙂
— Amin (@Aminmusaad_) February 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/ibraloves1/status/833442384528736256
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more updates. Don’t forget to like and share. Do tell us your views in the comment box below.