Lionel Messi scored deep into stoppage time as Barcelona kept their hopes of winning the La Liga alive with a last-gasp 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.
The highly-anticipated game began with full of drama as Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty appeal turned down when he looked to have been brought down in the box by Samuel Umtiti. Minutes later, the Portugal international forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into a smart save before Casemiro fired the hosts to the lead after 28 minutes. The Barcelona defenders failed to clear a Toni Kroos corner which fell to Marcelo who crossed the ball into the box from the left side. The ball was met by Ramos but his shot hit the bar before Casemiro tapped in to open the scoring.
https://twitter.com/SportLightHQ/status/856225447587217409
However, the joy was short lived, as Messi, who was left with a bloodied mouth after colliding with Marcelo’s elbow, restored parity five minutes later with a brilliant goal. The Barce star picked a pass from Ivan Rakitic outside the box, before going past Dani Carvajal to slot home.
https://twitter.com/Sue_Barcachick/status/856227203692060672
Luca Modric then tested Ter Stegen from distance before Gareth Bale limped off the pitch with what appeared to be a calf injury. Messi missed a chance to score his second before the break but he hit his shot wide.
Real began the second bright on a bright note with Ter Stegen tipping Kroos’ shot wide before denying Karim Benzema from close-range with a brilliant save. Ronaldo also missed a golden chance to give his side the lead in the but he only managed to scoop over a brilliant cross from Marco Asensio.
Zinedine Zidane’s men had to pay a hefty price for missing those chances as Rakitic gave the visitors the lead with a unstoppable shot from just outside the box.
https://twitter.com/IbrahimOJT_/status/856347344543117312
Real’s hopes of making a comeback soon received a huge setback when Sergio Ramos was sent off for a nasty two-footed challenge on Messi. But James Rodriguez seemed to have secured a vital point for his team when he scored from a Marcelo cross five minutes from regulation time.
Shout out @jamesdrodriguez for making the goal keep hit the dab @realmadriden pic.twitter.com/KJUc5qRnBr
— ETC!ETC! (@IAMETC) April 23, 2017
However, Messi once again left his mark on another Clasico, scoring his 500th goal for Barcelona in the final minute of the stoppage time by curling home Jordi Alba’s cross to give his team the victory and a major boost in the title race.
https://twitter.com/PreetG24/status/856246383032094720
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
I've fallen back in love with football, what a game. Messi is a genius #RealBarca
— Paul Collingwood (@Colly622) April 23, 2017
Lionel Messi wins the Clasico for Barcelona with his 500th goal for the club. Seconds to go. There's good, there's great and there's genius.
— Paul Hayward (@_PaulHayward) April 23, 2017
Best there is, has been and ever will be. Lionel Messi. #Messi #ElClasico
— Harry Lineker (@harry_lineker) April 23, 2017
Lionel Messi:
⚽️ La Liga: 343
⚽️ Champions League: 94
⚽️ Copa Del Rey: 43
⚽️ Supercopa: 12
⚽️ Club World Cup: 5
⚽️ Supercup: 3500 GOALS ? pic.twitter.com/clhIAph1vJ
— SPORF (@Sporf) April 23, 2017
He tried to fool us in start that he is only a human
But no human can hold a shirt like that,
GOD #Messi #ElClasico https://t.co/j9hczu4krY— Manas Kumar (@prasman2017) April 24, 2017
Luis Enrique is the 2nd Barcelona manager to win back-to-back La Liga games vs Real Madrid at Bernabeu, after Guardiola (2). [OPTA]
— OJO News (@BarcaNewsForum) April 23, 2017
3 things that are inevitable: 1.Death 2.Taxes 3.Messi humiliating Real Madrid. #Messi #ElClásico
— Akshay Gidwani (@akshaygidwani10) April 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/jperkovic93/status/856286414367055872
https://twitter.com/kingcolombia/status/856247453477195776
#JamesRodriguez was on the field for literally 3 minutes & scored but RM still wants to trade him and won't let him start pic.twitter.com/lbxKhSXbxU
— Lindsay (@_lfel) April 23, 2017
Sergio Ramos must be on some kind of record for the player with the most red cards in football history #ElClasico #RealBarca
— Adam Staniforth (@adamstan36) April 23, 2017