lionel Messi set up luis Suarez’s first-minute opener before scoring his 400th goal for Barcelona to give the Spanish league leaders a hard-fought 2-0 win over Valencia on Saturday. The 27-year-old Argentine is the all-time leading scorer for both Barcelona and the Spanish league. His 400th goal for the Catalan club was also his 278th in la liga.
Suarez netted his 12th goal in his last 12 appearances as Barcelona went ahead just 55 seconds into the match at Camp Nou. But Valencia dominated the rest of the first half and the hosts needed goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to save Dani Parejo’s penalty in the 10th minute.
Valencia striker Paco Alcacer went close several times before Barcelona settled down after halftime, and Messi sealed the win in stoppage time. Valencia’s first loss in 11 games left it in fourth place. Barcelona had a perfect start when Suarez used one touch to drive Messi’s pass under goalkeeper Diego Alves and finish off a move started by Sergio Busquets.
But Valencia’s complete control of the rest of the first half led to the rare sight of Barcelona without the ball — and seemingly at a loss as to how it could recover it in front of silent fans. The visitors’ best hope of equalizing came after Pique fouled Rodrigo Moreno while disputing a throw-in just inside the box.
Messi only got his goal with Valencia’s entire team except its goalkeeper going forward in hope of a last-gasp equalizer.