LIONEL MESSI scored a 90th-minute penalty for his second goal of the night to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over lowly Leganes in the Spanish league Sunday.

    Messi’s spot-kick, following a questionable penalty after Neymar tumbled in the area, saved Barcelona from a second demoralizing result this week after a 4-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.

    Coach Luis Enrique, however, acknowledged that the match was far from uplifting for a team that is staring at elimination from European competition and is trailing Real Madrid in La Liga.

    “We foresaw that it could be a complicated match given where we were coming from in the Champions League,” said Luis Enrique, who has been heavily criticized for the loss at PSG.

    “Everything was difficult for us, and that after having scored at the start. It’s clear we were lacking confidence for stretches. The game was finally decided by a penalty, but considering how we are right now, we will take it.”

    Leganes was clinging to a well-deserved point when Neymar stumbled over Martin Mantovani in the area. The contact was enough to secure a penalty and Messi’s league-leading 19th goal of the season.

    The match couldn’t have started better for the hosts, when Messi tapped in Luis Suarez’s cross after just four minutes.

    But Leganes, a modest club from Madrid that earned topflight promotion for the first time last season, never lost its poise and threatened whenever it emerged from defending its area.

    Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make four saves of goal-bound strikes before Leganes’s Unai Lopez got one past him for the equalizer in the 71st.

    “We wanted to leave here reinforced either way, with points or thanks to our showing,” Leganes coach Asier Garitano said. “We didn’t get the points, but I think we leave bolstered by the match. We competed well.”(SD-Agencies)