Ronald Koeman heaps praise on Lionel Messi after Barcelona defeat Huesca

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman heaped praise on his captain Lionel Messi after the Argentine produced another excellent performance to give the Blaugrana a win against Huesca in La Liga.

Messi scored twice and assisted another goal as Barcelona beat Huesca 4-1, and moved closer to leaders Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race.

With Diego Simeone's side only managing a goalless draw against ten-man Getafe, Barcelona cut their lead down to four points. That, in itself, is a mammoth achievement for Barcelona, whose deficit was in double digits a couple of months ago.

As usual, it was Messi who dragged the team with him on the night. He also equalled Xavi's record of appearances for Barca, with the Argentine playing his 767th game for the club.

After the win, Koeman didn't hold back in his praise for his captain.

"I think Messi has shown that he is the best. The first goal was fantastic. He deserves so much to be important to this team. Luckily he’s still with us," the Dutchman said as per Marca.

"It’s a very good result to keep growing. We had a good first half and we kept up the intensity in the second. We finally got a goal from a corner. People work hard on set pieces. A great goal for Óscar," Koeman added.

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Koeman annoyed by the penalty Barcelona conceded

Ronald Koeman said that Lionel Messi showed that he is the best player in the world

Koeman was annoyed by the penalty that Barcelona conceded in the first half. He complained about Rafa Mir’s penalty that made it 2-1 just before half-time and insisted it should not have been awarded.

But that did little to sour what was an excellent night for Barca, who were, as usual, carried to the win by their talisman. The brace took Messi's tally of goals this season up to 21. He is now three goals ahead of Luis Suarez in the league, and looks set for yet another Pichichi Trophy to add to his collection.

With 11 games to go this season, Barcelona seem to be building momentum at exactly the right time. The Blaugrana have won each of their last four games. They still have to play both the Madrid giants, with the La Liga title race set to go down to the wire.