BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi scored a 90th-minute penalty for his second goal of the night to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over lowly Leganes in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Messi’s spot-kick, following a questionable penalty after Neymar tumbled in the area, saved Barcelona from a second demoralizing result this week after a 4-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coach Luis Enrique, however, acknowledged that the match was far from uplifting for a team that is staring at elimination from European competition and is trailing Real Madrid in La Liga.
"We foresaw that it could be a complicated match given where we were coming from in the Champions League," said Luis Enrique, who has been heavily criticized for the loss at PSG.
"Everything was difficult for us, and that after having scored at the start. It’s clear we were lacking confidence for stretches. The game was finally decided by a penalty, but considering how we are right now, we will take it."
Leganes was clinging to a well-deserved point when Neymar stumbled over Martin Mantovani in the area. The contact was enough to secure a penalty and Messi’s league-leading 19th goal of the season.
The match started well for the hosts, when Messi tapped in Luis Suarez’s cross after just four minutes.
But Leganes, a modest club from Madrid that was promoted last season, never lost its poise and threatened whenever it emerged from defending its area.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make four saves of goal-bound strikes before Leganes’s Unai Lopez got the equalizer in the 71st.
"We wanted to leave here reinforced either, with points or thanks to our showing," Leganes coach Asier Garitano said. "We didn’t get the points, but I think we leave bolstered by the match. We competed well."
While Barcelona remained one point behind leader Real Madrid– which has two games in hand, few of its fans will take much solace from the drab performance against a side making its first visit to Camp Nou.
Barcelona had romped to a 5-1 victory at Leganes earlier this season, but this time around Leganes was by no means intimidated by Europe’s biggest stadium. It remained disciplined in defence despite falling behind early and knew when to take its chances going forward.
Winter signing Nabil El Zhar was particularly dangerous. The attacking midfielder tested Ter Stegen three times before Miguel Guerrero cued the equalizer when he stole the ball from right back Sergi Roberto. Lopez then fired a shot past Ter Stegen after fellow substitute Darwin Machis found him arriving unmarked inside the box.
"The match was a difficult one," Ter Stegen said. "It has been a complicated week. I hope these three points can lift our spirits."
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ATHLETIC BILBAO 0, VALENCIA 2
The playmaking of new arrival Fabian Orellana inspired Valencia to a much-needed 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Orellana’s precise pass through Bilbao’s backline set up Nani for Valencia’s opener in the 13th minute at Mestalla Stadium.
Orellana, who joined from Celta Vigo last month, combined with Munir El Haddadi in a brilliant buildup that ended with fellow winter transfer signing Simone Zaza doubling the lead in the 45th.
Bilbao was left with 10 men from the 56th minute when substitute Aritz Aduriz was injured three minutes after coming on. Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde was unable to replace him because he had made all three substitutions.
"It was a great pass by Orellana," Nani said. "The team left a good impression today. As we have been saying, we are working hard to improve and this match is proof that we haven’t given up."
Valencia’s first win in four rounds comes three days before hosting leader Real Madrid. Their match was originally scheduled for December but had to be pushed back due to Madrid’s participation in the Club World Cup.
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REAL SOCIEDAD 0, VILLARREAL 1
A stoppage-time goal by Samuel Castillejo gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad as the "Yellow Submarine" rebounded from its 4-0 loss to Roma in the Europa League’s round-of-32 first leg.
"We needed this win," said Castillejo, who scored from a pass by Jaume Costa. "The loss to Roma hurt a lot."
Sociedad and Villarreal remained in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
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