Lionel Messi was rugby tackled and then scored a penalty as Barcelona put the pressure back on Real Madrid by easing to a 2-0 victory over Leganes at an empty Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Messi was hauled to the ground in the first half by a diving Unai Bustinza wrapping two arms around his waist and he was knocked over again in the second, this time earning a penalty, which he converted.

After 33 appearances, Messi now has 26 goals this season. In his last eight games, he has seven goals and eight assists.

The 17-year-old Ansu Fati had earlier given Barcelona the lead, continuing his breakthrough season with a fifth goal in eight league starts.

Leganes could have made the reigning champions feel uncomfortable if Miguel-Angel Guerrero had taken either of two golden early opportunities but the first was cleared off the line and the second denied by the post.

“We had a bit of luck at the beginning,” admitted Barca coach Quique Setien.

But his team’s reward for a rather underwhelming performance is a five-point advantage over Madrid, who can reduce that back to two by winning at home to Valencia on Thursday.

Valencia will be a more thorough examination of Madrid’s sharpness after the three-month break and Barca can expect tougher tests to come than Leganes too, starting with a trip to third-placed Sevilla on Friday.

Setien will hope Gerard Pique recovers from a nasty challenge that means he will need stitches in his shin. “It split his shinpad,” said Setien. “We hope it’s not serious.”

Leganes have dropped to the bottom of the table and look doomed to relegation, their chances of survival damaged by Barcelona snatching away their top scorer Martin Braithwaite as an emergency signing in February.

Leganes were not alone in feeling the rule had hurt them disproportionately and their sense of injustice might have been deepened by the fact Braithwaite was left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.

AFP