Gabi dispossessed Gerard
Pique and fed the ball to striker Radamel Falcao, who netted his 28th
goal this season to stay third in the "Pichichi" scoring stakes behind
Messi (46) and Cristiano Ronaldo (34).
Alexis Sanchez leveled
the score five minutes after Messi departed, toe-poking in a low shot
after combining well with Cesc Fabregas for his 10th in La Liga. The
Chilean was then booked after taking off his shirt to reveal a Mother's
Day message.
Barca's winner came with
10 minutes to play, and was equally unrepresentative of the elegant play
usually associated with the club.
Striker David Villa
scuffed a shot which deflected off Diego Godin and -- apparently going
wide of the goal -- then hit Gabi before bobbling into Thibaut Courtois'
net.
Ugly as it was, it means Barca can equal Real's tally of 100 points by winning the last three games.
Atletico stayed third
after the defeat, but can still win a trophy this season by beating city
rivals Real in next Friday's Copa del Rey final.
Valencia climbed into
the fourth Champions League place with a 4-0 win at midtable Rayo
Vallecano, moving a point above Real Sociedad -- who host Granada on
Monday.
Sixth-placed Malaga drew
0-0 with Sevilla, while seventh-placed Real Betis won 1-0 at home to
second-bottom Celta Vigo, with Ruben Castro scoring the second-half
winner.
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