Argentine star Lionel Messi scored two goals with which he led his team Barcelona to reverse a goal behind Athletic Bilbao, to a precious 3-2 victory on Wednesday evening, in a postponed match in the second round of the Spanish Football League.
Barcelona, who achieved their ninth victory in the tournament during the current and second season in a row, rose to 31 points from 17 games, to advance to third place, 5 points behind their arch-rivals Real Madrid (the title holder), and the second-place holder, who fought the same number Of matches, while the Catalans are 7 points behind leaders Atlético Madrid, who played only 15 games.
#La Liga
Barcelona return with a precious victory from Bilbao and rise to third place
⏯️ Enjoy watching the match summary 👇 # beINLiga #LaLiga
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 6, 2021
In contrast, Athletic Bilbao, who lost their ninth loss in the competition this season, stopped at 21 points from 18 games in ninth place.
The initiative came from Bilbao, who came early with a surprise goal bearing the signature of Iñaki Williams in the third minute, but Pedri quickly equalized for Barcelona in the 14th minute.
Nice goal for Messi that reminds us of the time of the "Tiki Taka" # Barcelona # Messi # Spanish League pic.twitter.com/nuilH1VHoz
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 6, 2021
Messi scored the second and third goals for Barcelona in the 38th and 62nd minutes, respectively, to score the first double in his career with the team in the tournament during the new year.
Fire a fire, Messi 🔥🤯 # AthleticBarça #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/V9xTFMLPrc
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) January 6, 2021
Messi raised his scoring tally in the competition this season to 9 goals, to share the top scorer in the tournament with Luis Suarez, Gerard Moreno and Iago Aspas, the stars of Atlético, Villarreal and Celta Vigo, respectively.
Bilbao ignited the match in the final moments, after reducing the difference in the 90th minute through Ikar Munyayn, so that the host team tried to equalize in the calculated time instead of lost for the second half to no avail.