csconstantine.com

A late Lionel Messi goal was enough to see La Liga leaders Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 and return to winning ways despite a spirited performance from the Basque club.

The home team opened the scoring on four minutes through David Villa yet an Andoni Iraola penalty on 50 minutes saw Bilbao draw level. However Lionel Messi scored what was to be the winning goal on 78 minutes.

The result sees the Catalan giants regain their five point lead over rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The home side started brightly as they have done so often this season and found themselves a goal up after four minutes. A wonderful chipped Xavi pass found Dani Alves in space on the right side of the Athletic box. The Brazilian wing-back played a neat cut-back to David Villa who made no mistake in directing the ball ball past a helpless Gorka Iraizoz from 12-yards out.

Athletic responded well to going a goal down and came close to an equaliser on 11 minutes. Star striker Fernando Llorente drifted out to the left before clipping a precise cross to Markel Susaeta whose header could only hit the side-netting.

The away team continued to repel Barcelona's constant attacks and came even closer to equalising on 37 minutes. Igor Gabilondo did brilliant to find space on the left wing before curling an inviting ball into the box. The towering Llorente powered a firm header goalwards but Jose Pinto was on hand to make a stunning low save. The former Celta Vigo 'keeper could play a pivotal role in the Catalan club's fortunes this season with the news that Victor Valdes could miss the next six weeks.

Los Leones started the second half with plenty of ambition and were level on 50 minutes after the home side gifted their opponents a soft penalty. Eric Abidal played a tame pass to Sergio Busquets in the Barcelona box but Llorente did well to get a foot to the ball with Busquets clumsily bringing down his international team-mate. With Llorente on the sidelines receiving treatment, Andoni Iraola was handed the task of converted the spot-kick which he did with ease, sending Pinto the wrong way.

The La Liga champions responded fairly well and could have re-taken the lead on 69 minutes. Xavi played a decent through ball to Villa who had the beating of Fernando Amorebieta before seeing his snapshot expertly tipped around the post by Iraizoz.

Despite not being at their best, Barcelona scored their second on 78 minutes. Xavi's wonderful pass found Alves once again on the right. The former Sevilla man drilled a low cross into the feet of Lionel Messi who smashed the ball into the roof of the net from six-yards out for the goal that gave Pep Guardiola's men all three points.

Follow Goal.com on to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's

Labels: Athletic, Barcelona, Bilbao, Goalcom, Messi, rescue

A night of forgettable football may just be remembered for years to come. Arsenal, of all teams, sustained their challenge for the title by winning ugly. They even capped their recovery from 1-0 down by scoring from a Robin van Persie corner, as Laurent Koscielny headed beyond Tim Howard in the 75th minute. The pressure was applied late and Everton could not quite resist it.

The victors had often been pedestrian, even if the goal they conceded was contentious. Samir Nasri, who has a hamstring injury, was missed terribly. A dependence has developed on a player who has been outstanding this season.

Still Arsène Wenger's men stuck together and weathered a long stretch of ineffectiveness before the substitute Andrey Arshavin equalised. It has to be assumed that the attrition took its toll of David Moyes's team later in the game after they allowed themselves to be pinned down. Although Louis Saha scored, the restricted menace in Everton's squad means that they are likely to be dominated eventually by such opponents as these.

No suggestions of that sort can be made regarding Manchester United, who still hold a five-point lead in the table, and when they come to the Emirates on 30 April Arsenal will have to be sure of themselves in every element of the game. This was a chastening fixture for even a prodigy such as Jack Wilshere, who was taken off because too much was at stake for a teenager to be left on the pitch in the hope that he would muddle through.

As challengers Arsenal have reached the stage where there are hopes, if not assumptions, and the level of stress climbs. Just as Wenger's side were settling down here, they suffered the loss of an unusual goal. In the 22nd minute Koscielny, who was the last defender, stretched a leg and deliberately made contact with a pass from Seamus Coleman. That touch nudged the ball on to Saha, who was behind him. The forward took his opportunity impeccably and no flag was raised.

The referee, Lee Mason, seemed to review the episode on the screen at the Emirates; he then consulted an assistant, Stephen Child. The offside law can be tortuous in its modern form and, unusually, both managers agreed afterwards that the goal ought not to have stood. Unsettling as it was for Arsenal, there had been more fundamental difficulties for them in the sluggish start they had made to the match. They might have had superior means to Everton but the hosts were conscious of one absentee.

With Nasri unavailable, Wenger could have been racking his brains over who could possibly assume the Frenchman's responsibilities. The manager might have asked himself if that chap Cesc Fábregas could compensate for the loss of Nasri. Flippancy aside, the Arsenal captain is the club's one player most capable of increasing his contribution and so helping to make this a season of real achievement for the club.

He has scored only three Premier League goals in the current campaign and his marksmanship was dubious here when he pulled a shot wide after he had been set up by a back-heel from Van Persie in the 17th minute. Fábregas is unlikely to come anywhere close to last season's tally of 15 goals in the league alone, which he reached despite having his club season ended by a leg fracture in March.

There was a hint of another sort of impact in this match when he set up Van Persie but the centre-forward could not keep his balance and his attempt went high in the 37th minute. At that point Wenger's men had not subdued the visitors and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov had to be denied by the goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, although the angle was tight.

Bookings for Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky gave the impression that the concentration levels of the Arsenal players were dubious. Everton, with an hour gone, had stopped their opponents from showing the normal grace. The visitors, indeed, were not always pinned down around their own penalty area.

Arshavin took over from Rosicky in the 62nd minute and he levelled the score eight minutes later. Arshavin was standing behind Jack Rodwell but it was the midfielder's header from a chipped pass by Fábregas that set him up to equalise. Belatedly Arsenal were on course for a result that they will find curiously satisfying.

Labels: Arsenal, Everton, Guardian, Koscielny, Laurent, rescue, tables