By Scott Mills, Reporter, LaLigaNews
Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona
Celta Vigo: Insa 38′, Oubina 88′.
Barcelona: Tello 43′, Messi 73′.
Lionel Messi cemented his name in the record books once again despite his goal not being enough to earn Barcelona a win after they drew 2-2 with relegation-threatened Celta Vigo.
The four-time Ballon d’Or winner’s 73rd minute goal meant that he has now scored in 19 successive matches in La Liga.
In doing so the Argentine International has also become the first player to have found the net against every side consecutively in the competition, scoring 29 goals in his last 19 games.
With Messi breaking the record and Eric Abidal returning to the bench, a good day for Barcelona was soon ruined, as Borja Oubina’s late header rescued a point for the home side after Naxto Insa’s opener was cancelled out by Cristian Tello just before half time.
The first chance of the game fell to Celta Vigo’s Augusto Fernandez who saw a blistering effort tipped around the post by Barca’s Jose Pinto. The match then got its first goal in the 38th minute when a well worked cross from Fabian Orellana found Insa who slotted it in from close range.
The lead didn’t last long though, as just before the break Messi picked out Tello who opened up his body superbly, before curling a short across the outstretched Javi Varas into the far corner.
With the referee waving away any penalty appeals from both sides in the second half, the half’s first real chance came when Varas made a neat save to prolong what seemed to be the inevitable; Messi getting that historical 19th consecutive goal.
The Argentine finally secured another piece of history with 17 minutes left on the clock, when Tello pulled the ball back from the left flank, for Messi arriving just in time to convert.
It would not prove enough to secure the points for the away side, though, with Oubina’s looping header from Fabian Orellana’s 88th-minute cross levelled things up.
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