Messi Scores Fantastic Free-Kick As Barcelona Record Crucial Win Over Valencia In 5-Goal Thriller

- Barcelona vs Valencia ended 3-2 in favour of Ronald Koeman's men in a thrilling contest

- Lionel Messi was the star of the show as he scored a brace while Antoine grabbed one goal

- La Blaugrana have put their La Liga title hopes alive as they go level on points with Real Madrid

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Lionel Messi scored a fantastic free-kick to help Barcelona defeat Valencia by 3-2 at the Estadio Mestalla in an entertaining La Liga contest.

Ronald Koeman's men bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Granada in their last outing to put their title hopes alive.

Valencia drew first blood after it was goalless at half time as former Arsenal star Gabriel Paulista made it 1-0 in the 50th minute with a header.

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Messi brought his side back on level terms after slotting home the ball from an initial penalty miss to make it 1-1 in the 57th minute.

Griezmann then put Barca ahead for the first time in the match as he poked home a loose ball to make it 2-1 five minutes later.

The tale of the take was an exquisite free kick from Messi in the 69th minute as Barca were 3-1 up in the game.

Valencia pulled one back from Carlos Soler's screamer in the 83rd minute but it was not enough to stop Koeman's side from earning all three points.

Barcelona are level on points with Real Madrid but are third on the log due to the head-to-head rule and two points behind Atletico Madrid at the top.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Ronald Koeman has been handed a two-match ban for misconduct during Barcelona's 2-1 loss to Granada at the Camp Nou, Marca, Twitter.

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La Blaugrana blew away a golden opportunity to go top of La Liga as Koeman's frustrations got the better of him on the sidelines.

Lionel Messi had put the home side ahead in the first half but Darwin Machis brought Granada back on level terms three minutes after the hour mark.

And in the 66th minute of the match, referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes sent off Koeman off for constantly making utterances from the technical area.

Source: Legit.ng