Messi gives Barca 1-0 win at Espanyol, league lead
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi converted a late penalty to give Barcelona a contentious 1-0 win at Espanyol on Saturday, provisionally lifting the defending champions to the top of the Spanish league.
Espanyol's physical style had kept Messi and the crosstown visitors in check until defender Javi Lopez handled in the area, and the Argentina forward scored the spot kick for his 23rd league goal this season and eighth in his last four games.
Barcelona was fortunate, however, that the referee did not see the ball hit Lopez after Dani Alves' cross first ricocheted off Neymar's arm, as television replays appeared to show.
Espanyol played the last seven minutes and injury time with 10 men after goalkeeper Kiko Casilla used his hands outside the box. Lopez had to take over goalkeeping duties with Espanyol's three substitutes already made.
Barcelona moved onto 75 points. Atletico has 73 before visiting Athletic Bilbao later, while Real Madrid has 70 before hosting Rayo Vallecano.
Barcelona hosts Atletico on Tuesday in the Champions League quarterfinals, a preview of their meeting in the last round of the Spanish league season.
"Derbies are always tough, and this was a tense game with lots of interruptions, fouls and controversy," Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "Three weeks ago we were in a difficult situation. Now we are in a privileged one and control our fate. I hope it stays like that until the last game against Atletico."
Barcelona was outmuscled and outplayed by its more modest rivals in the first half at Cornella-El Prat stadium and did little more than create a trio of chances squandered by Neymar in the fourth, 19th and 39th.
Led by forward Sergio Garcia, Espanyol weathered Barcelona's initial push and came close to scoring twice through Luis "Pizzi" Afonso, only to see both his shots sail high.
Espanyol even dominated the ball before halftime, but Barcelona's brittle defense with Jose Pinto starting in goal for the injured Victor Valdes managed to defend a pair of corner kicks to keep the game scoreless going into the break.
The second half soon turned sloppy, with fouls piling up and scoring chances growing scarce.
But as Espanyol tired, Barcelona pushed forward and Gerard Pique volleyed a corner kick off the crossbar three minutes before Messi's winner, when he coolly waited for Casilla to lean to his left before slotting the ball to the other side.
Casilla was shown a red card for blocking Messi's shot outside the area. Lopez played admirably as his replacement, making two saves.
Also, Celta Vigo forward Manuel "Nolito" Agudo scored an 87th-minute penalty following a handball by Federico Fazio for a 1-0 victory that ended Sevilla's club-record streak of six straight wins.
Sevilla stayed in fifth place, six points out of the last Champions League spot held by Bilbao.
