‘Hopefully I can score many more!’ Leo Messi savours moment with 400 Barca goals

Lionel Messi scored the 400th goal of his Barcelona career as the Catalan club beat Champions League-chasing Valencia 2-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Real Madrid remain just two points behind Barca at the top of the La Liga table as goals from Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo secured a 3-1 win over Malaga despite a rare missed penalty from Ronaldo.

However, victory came at a cost for the European champions as Gareth Bale and Luka Modric hobbled off with injuries just days before their decisive Champions League quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid.

Luis Suarez got Barca off to a flying start as he slotted home the opener after just 54 seconds from Messi’s through ball.

Valencia then went onto enjoy the majority of the chances, but they were left to rue Dani Parejo’s missed penalty in the first half.

And Messi made sure of all three points with the final kick of the game after Diego Alves had saved his initial effort.

“400 goals with Barcelona. Hopefully I can score many more!” Messi posted on his official Facebook page.

“But the most important thing was that we won three points in a very difficult match.”

Defeat, meanwhile, leaves Valencia now four points adrift of third-placed Atletico Madrid, who beat Deportivo la Coruna 2-1 thanks to a double from Antoine Griezmann.

“We played very well in the first-half and had a lot of good chances,” lamented Valencia manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

“We go away hurt, sad and angry because we wanted to win. In the first-half we had too many chances to end up with this result.”

Suarez scored two skilled individual goals as Barca all but secured their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 3-1 win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

And he took less than a minute to pick up from where he left off in the French capital as Sergio Busquets fed Messi and his pass was fired low past Alves by Suarez for his 12th goal in as many games.

However, Valencia went on to dominate the remainder of the opening 45 minutes and were unlucky still to be behind at the break.

Rodrigo flashed a shot just wide before he was deemed to have been brought down inside the area by Gerard Pique.

Parejo’s penalty was poorly struck, though, and Claudio Bravo made a comfortable save low to his right.

Paco Alcacer then had a hat-trick of chances to grab a deserved equaliser as he turned Andre Gomes’s dangerous cross wide, saw a goalbound effort blocked by Pique and struck the outside of the post.

Bravo was needed to come to his side’s rescue again 15 minutes from time when he turned the ball behind from Rodrigo’s volley.

But it was Messi who had the final word as he was given all the space he needed to break clear and score his 400th goal in 471 games for Barca in stoppage time as Valencia chased in vain for an equaliser.

A fourth consecutive La Liga win ensured Madrid remain in the title hunt, but victory could come at a cost with both Bale and Modric now fitness doubts for the decisive second-leg against Atletico on Wednesday with the tie locked at 0-0.

Bale was forced off with a left calf problem after less than five minutes with Javier Hernandez taking over in attack.

Carlos Kameni prevented the Mexican from opening the scoring with a fine save, but there was nothing he could do to prevent Ramos turning home Ronaldo’s free-kick after 24 minutes.

Kameni produced more heroics to prevent Rodriguez doubling Madrid’s advantage with a sweetly struck shot, but Malaga should have gone in level at the break as Sergi Darder slashed wide with the goal at his mercy.

Nordin Amrabat flashed wide with another good opening for the visitors after the restart before Madrid were dealt another injury blow as Modric hobbled off with a knee injury.

Madrid’s bad luck continued as Ronaldo struck the post from the penalty spot after Rodriguez had been upended by Samu Castillejo.

However, there was no stopping Rodriguez’s 14th goal of the season as he blasted into the top corner after a neat one-two with Ronaldo.

Malaga replied almost immediately as Juanmi headed home Roberto Rosales’s cross, but Madrid saw out a nervous spell before Ronaldo slotted home from Hernandez’s pass in stoppage time.

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

Dengue%20fever%20symptoms

%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

While you're here

Gavin Esler: Will 2021 be Boris Johnson's worst year?

Thomas Harding: US relations with Europe could change

Brodie Owen: How England’s new lockdown rules work

Mina Al-Oraibi: Suleimani death casts a long shadow over decade ahead

Khaled Yacoub Oweis: Hezbollah bids to control Lebanon’s financial system

National Editorial: Hezbollah's murky dealings in Iraq have been unveiled

Company profile

Name: Tratok Portal

Founded: 2017

Based: UAE

Sector: Travel & tourism

Size: 36 employees

Funding: Privately funded

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')

Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)

Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.

Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.

The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.

What are the influencer academy modules?

Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
Cinematography, shots and movement.
All aspects of post-production.
Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
Tourism industry knowledge.
Professional ethics.

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.