LIONEL MESSI saved Barcelona from its second straight defeat by scoring with a 90th-minute free kick in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal in the Spanish league Sunday.

    Three days after losing 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao in a first-leg match in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey, Barcelona failed to break through until Messi produced his superb strike from the edge of the area.

    The Argentine found the top corner with a curling, left-footed shot that left the wall ineffective, with Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo wrong-footed.

    “We deserved to win, but in the end we were able to salvage a point,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.

    Messi, who earned the free kick after being fouled just outside the box, had already been denied by the post after a shot from inside the area in the 73rd. “We had the game won but it didn’t happen because of the talent of a great player,” Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano said of Messi.

    It was the 13th goal for Messi in the Spanish league this season, leaving him as the competition’s leading scorer after 17 rounds.

    (SD-Agencies)