LIONEL MESSI tore a ligament in his left knee near the start of Barcelona’s costly 2-1 win over Las Palmas on Saturday.

    The club’s all-time leading scorer asked to be substituted in the eighth minute after he had tried to return to the match following a collision with a Las Palmas defender.

    Medical tests at a local hospital found that he had torn a ligament, and the club said Messi will be sidelined for seven to eight weeks.

    In the capital, Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni made a series of impressive saves as his side held Real Madrid to a goalless draw, but none was better than the one hand he managed to get in the patch of Cristiano Ronaldo’s blistering shot in the 48th.

    Villarreal moved past both powerhouses into first place and one point ahead of Barcelona and two ahead of Madrid after it edged Atletico Madrid 1-0 at its El Madrigal’s stadium.

    Baptistao’s 14th-minute goal kept Villarreal unbeaten and secured its fifth win in a row.

    Celta missed its opportunity to rise to the top of the standings after it drew 1-1 at Eibar. Iago Aspas canceled out Borja Baston’s early goal in the 76th, but his Celta settled for a point that kept it level with Madrid in fourth place.

    Also, Sevilla substitute Yevhen Konoplyanka netted a free kick with four minutes to go to snatch a 3-2 win over visiting Rayo Vallecano that pulled the Andalusian side out of last place with its first victory of the season. Rayo had erased a two-goal deficit before Antonio Amaya was sent off with a second booking for the foul that set up Konoplyanka’s goal.

    Luis Suarez struck twice to ensure no more damage was done to Barca’s title bid, but the hosts were left hanging on after Jonathan Viera’s deflected effort three minutes from time halved the deficit.

    “Firstly, it is always sad when a player gets injured. It is without doubt the worst thing in football for the players,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

    “Obviously, when it is Leo Messi even more so for the weight he carries amongst our group.

    “It is logical in football that players will get injured and we have to know how to overcome it. I am sure we will perform at a good level.”

    Barca had been humiliated 4-1 at Celta Vigo in midweek and hopes of a trouble-free afternoon were ended after just 10 minutes when Messi injured his left knee in a clash with Pedro Bigas.

    Messi, 28, was injured as he tried to turn the ball home after taking a wonderful first touch inside the area.

    The four-time World Player of the Year briefly returned to the field after receiving treatment, but was clearly unable to run freely before he was replaced by Munir El Haddadi.

    “Tests have confirmed that Leo Messi suffered a torn internal collateral knee ligament. The estimated time out will be seven to eight weeks,” Barcelona said in a statement

    Suarez opened the scoring on 25 minutes as he rose to head home Sergi Roberto’s inch-perfect cross from the right to settle Barca’s nerves.

    However, the visitors had their chances to equalize on their first league visit to the Camp Nou for 13 years as Viera forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into action with a long range effort before firing over with a clearer sight of goal minutes later. (SD-Agencies)