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Messi to Barcelona's rescue

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Sports
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Barcelona had to rely on Lionel Messi once again as they came from behind to beat Alaves 2-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi came to the rescue again by scoring late as Spanish league leader Barcelona rallied against relegation-wary Alaves with a 2-1 win at Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday.

The win kept Barcelona 11 points in front of Atletico Madrid, which earlier defeated Las Palmas 3-0 at home.

Alaves, sitting just outside the relegation zone, surprisingly went ahead with forward John Guidetti scoring midway through the first half. The visitors threatened constantly on counterattacks until Suarez evened the score with a volley from inside the area in the 72nd minute after a cross by Andre Iniesta.

Messi netted the winner with a well-struck free kick in the 84th.

Suarez and Messi have combined to score at least a goal each in seven of Barcelona's last eight matches. Messi is the league's leading scorer with 20 goals, followed by Suarez with 16.

Messi found the net 11 times in his last 12 games, while Suarez scored 12 goals in the last 10.

Philippe Coutinho made his debut as a starter, being replaced in the second half. The newly signed Brazilian midfielder had played a few minutes in Barcelona's win over Espanyol in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.