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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolverine GTR" data-source="post: 21119235" data-attributes="member: 158020">Messi rescues Barca yet again, but La Liga is now in Real Madrid's hands <img src="http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/goal_es/56/5/messi-villarreal-barcelona_1jil3e8q9d64h1ok54zrhix8zn.jpg?t=2144295569&w=620&h=430" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> Lionel Messi to the rescue. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner stepped up to level with a stunning strike in the last minute and save Barcelona from a damaging defeat away to an excellent Villarreal on Sunday. But La Liga is now very much in Real Madrid's hands. Barca began the day six points behind their fierce rivals and had the chance to cut that deficit to three, albeit with one more match played due to Real's recent participation in the Club World Cup. But this was another subdued showing. With Ivan Rakitic left out of the squad amid reports in Croatia that the midfielder will join Manchester City in the January transfer window, Andre Gomes was disappointing again in midfield. Gomes, along with Barca's other summer signings, was supposed to help Barca's strength in depth. However, he has added little and bar Samuel Umtiti and some select moments from Lucas Digne and Denis Suarez, the Blaugrana do not seem stronger at all. Neymar put in a shift further forward, but the Brazilian is nowhere near his best at the moment and Luis Suarez was off colour once more, leaving it to Messi to salvage something from a game that had looked like going against Luis Enrique's side after Nicola Sansone shot Villarreal in front. Messi has papered over the cracks on numerous occasions in recent seasons, but Barca's current form is as bad as anything the Catalans have produced under Luis Enrique and they will not win the title with the Argentine's talents alone. Villarreal, to their credit, were excelllent. Bruno Soriano is one of La Liga's best midfielders and although he was fortunate not to concede a penalty for a blatant handball, he frustrated Barca all night. And alongside him, Manu Trigueros and Jonathan dos Santos also worked incredibly hard to contain the visitors. Villarreal are now one of the finest teams in La Liga. Despite a late coaching change in the summer, the Yellow Submarine are in fifth, just one point behind Atletico and five adrift of Barcelona, under Fran Escriba. For their part, Barca are five behind Madrid and that with one more match played. La Liga, theirs in each of the last two seasons and in six of the previous eight overall, now appears to be slipping away."La Liga doesn't depend on us," Luis Enrique admitted afterwards. "It depends on Real Madrid, who are the strongest team." There is a long way to go, of course, and the championship is not even at its halfway stage yet. However, Madrid have not been beaten in any competition for 39 games and if they win their game in hand, they will be eight points clear of Barca. And that is lot of ground to make up - even with Lionel Messi in your team.</blockquote>

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