Late Messi penalty rescues stuttering Barcelona
Lionel Messi's last-gasp penalty spared Marc-Andre Ter Stegen's blushes as Barcelona responded to its midweek UEFA Champions League humiliation with an unconvincing 2-1 win over struggling Leganes.
Paris Saint-Germain thumped Barca 4-0 in its last-16, first-leg tie on Wednesday (AEDT) to heap the pressure on coach Luis Enrique, and while Messi's late winner prevented a second embarrassing result in six days, the Catalan side failed to produce the commanding response that many expected.
Early on Barca looked every inch a side desperate to respond emphatically to that humbling result in Paris and it was hardly surprising to see Messi put them ahead after just four minutes at Camp Nou.
But the host fluttered between attacking vibrancy and wastefulness throughout the first period, while Leganes were also afforded several good chances, perhaps more than it would have expected.
Barca did not produce an improvement after the break and few would have suggested spirited Leganes did not deserve a share of the spoils, with a Ter Stegen error allowing Unai Lopez to level 19 minutes from the end.
But Neymar won a penalty in the 90th minute and Messi coolly slotted it home to salvage the win which keeps Barca second in LaLiga, though Luis Enrique will undoubtedly have more questions to answer after another poor display.
