Lionel Messi & Mar-Andre ter Stegen Lead Barcelona to a Victory against Atletico Madrid

Published 12/02/2019, 7:38 AM EST

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Lionel Messi scored his 30th goal against Athletico Madrid in an incredible fashion leading Barcelona to their first victory at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. It was also Messi’s first goal at the stadium after he could not score in the two draws last season.

The match was threatening to finish as a goalless draw, but Messi, with just four minutes of normal time left, picked up the ball and then curled the ball past Jan Oblak after playing a one-two with Luis Suarez.

“In games which are even and hard, to have Leo is always a huge advantage,” Barcelona manager Lionel Messi said of his talisman after the match as per Goal. “You have to suffer here but we have won and picked up three really important points, which is what is important.

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Contrary to the result, Barcelona did not seem to be on top throughout the game. The home team came close to scoring more than once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgLKVdcJH3o

But Marc-Andre ter Stegen made two brilliant saves in the first half, which  kept his team in the match. He denied Mario Hermoso and Alvaro Morata in an outstanding manner, but remained humble after the match.

“I try to do my job,” he was quoted as saying by the Sport. “These matches make us grow as a team and that is what it is about. I am really happy because now we’ve played well for a few games while winning.

“We knew it was a difficult place to come. It’s normal that they have chances. They have a lot of quality. But defensively we played really well and in the end we’ve scored the goal which has earned a really important win.”

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“That’s what we hoped for before the game and what we prepared for all week. I am really happy with this win.”

The win moves Barcelona back to the top of La Liga.

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Match highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXFKSAVc5I

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Written by:

Saketh Kandadai

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