Feb. 2 (UPI) — Lionel Messi scored twice after Barcelona trailed 2-0 to Valencia, saving his squad for a 2-2 draw in the La Liga clash on Saturday at Camp Nou in Barcelona.
His equalizer was an absolute golazo. Arturo Vidal heeled a pass back to Messi at the top of the box during the sequence. The Argentine striker tapped the ball once to his left before ripping a shot between several defenders. The ball went out wide left before curling back in and beating keeper Neto in the 64th minute.
Barcelona went down 1-0 after Valencia’s Kevin Gameiro beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the 24th minute. Daniel Parejo netted a penalty kick in the 32nd minute for a 2-0 lead at Camp Nou.
Messi’s cut the Valencia lead in half with a penatly kick in the 39th minute, making the score 2-1 at halftime.
He returned for his second score midway through the second half.
Barcelona battles rival Real Madrid in the first leg of a Copa del Rey semifinal matchup at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Messi’s squad matches up against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga action at 2:45 p.m. on Feb. 10 at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain.