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#2 A bittersweet night for Lionel Messi
Estadio de Gran Canaria had been a stadium (before last night) where Lionel Messi had not scored a goal despite playing on two occasions. The Argentine scratched that off the record books with a sweetly struck free kick in the 21st minute. This time he hit one around the wall and beat the Las Palmas goalkeeper at his near post.
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This was Messi's fourth free kick in 2018. Against Real Sociedad and Alaves, he made them dip over the wall whereas last week against Girona, he scored one under the wall. This time he decided to go around the wall and succeeded to mark his 31st goal in all competitions this season.
But for larger durations against the Canaries, Messi looked subdued and was not at his usual influential self. Las Palmas resorted to the only way possible to stop Leo Messi. They fouled him incessantly. Four of the opposition players got booked on the night for their tackles on the Barcelona talisman. It made Messi uncomfortable as he was unable to dominate in the final third.
