Barcelona 2-2 Valencia: 5 talking points as Lionel Messi equals Pele record but Barcelona are held to a draw | La Liga 2020-21

#3 Barcelona concede again from a set-piece

FC Barcelona v Valencia CF - La Liga Santander

Barcelona have the joint-worst record of conceding from corners this season and so far have conceded four times from the corner, a stat only matched by 19th-placed Huesca.

Three of the four defenders in the squad tonight had an average age of 21, so they weren't exactly the most experienced and need more training on how to deal with incoming set-pieces. The way Diakhaby was given far too much time and space to head in Soler's delivery, is simply not expected from Barca.

Gerard Pique's absence at the heart of the defence was clearly felt and Koeman could only hope that in the absence of the veteran defender, the youngsters will step up in training and avoid conceding from set-pieces from here on.

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#2 Jaume Domenech kept his side in the game despite Messi's goal following a missed penalty

Jaume Domenech denied Messi from the penalty spot but he conceded from the follow-up.

Jaume Domenech was outstanding tonight and made seven saves to deny Barcelona the winning goal and also almost prevented Messi from scoring the opener by saving the Barcelona captain's penalty, only to concede on the follow-up.

Of the seven saves, four of them were from the inside box. In addition to his display between the sticks, he also recorded a 100% pass accuracy.

If not for his heroics tonight, the hosts could've easily secured the three points from the game.

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#1 Lionel Messi equals Pele's record for most goals for a single club

Lionel Messi headed in his 643rd goal for Barcelona tonight.

Lionel Messi has equalled yet another all-time world record tonight. After scoring against Valencia he has joined the legendary Pelé as the highest goalscorer ever for a single club. The Argentine talisman has now scored a staggering 643 goals for The Catalans across 17 seasons and 748 games.

He saw his effort from the penalty spot saved by Domenech but Jordi Alba was there to collect the rebound and Messi made no mistakes in connecting to his cross and dived in to equalise for the hosts and reach the commendable milestone.

🐐 G . O . A . T .⚽ 6️⃣4️⃣3️⃣🔝 @officialpes pic.twitter.com/ZlN7KYNreV

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 19, 2020

Though he could not add another goal to break the record in this game, he'll surely get on the scoresheet in the following games and likely ensure that the game ends in a win for his side.