Barcelona beat Valencia but still remain only 2 points ahead of Real Madrid

Lionel Messi almost fumbled the opportunity to seal Barcelona’s three points but came through in the end

Madrid, April 19 (IANS): The top three teams in the La Liga have won their respective league matches to continue their pursuit of the title. FC Barcelona remained at the top of the standings after a fortuitous 2-0 win at home to Valencia on Saturday, reports Xinhua.

A goal from striker Luis Suarez inside the first minute and another from forward Lionel Messi with the last kick of the game let the Catalan side maintain their two-point cushion at the top.

But Barcelona were made to struggle, especially in the first half by Valencia. Valencia pinned the home team back and saw midfielder Dani Parejo's weak penalty saved by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, while striker Paco Alcacer hit the post as they spurned a host of first-half chances.

Barcelona controlled matters after the break but it was not until the last kick of the game that Messi made the win safe.

Real Madrid kicked off against Malaga knowing they needed a win in order to bring Barcelona's lead back to a manageable two points, but they suffered an early setback when winger Gareth Bale had to leave the pitch with a calf injury.

Defender Sergio Ramos opened the scoring after 24 minutes with a diving header and forward James Rodriguez doubled Madrid's lead 25 minutes after halftime after star striker Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty.

The Portuguese striker, however, scored in injury time with a close range tap-in.

Striker Antoine Griezmann's first half brace of goals (his 19th and 20th of the season) allowed defending champions Atletico Madrid to strengthen their grip on the third spot with a 2-1 win away to struggling Deportivo la Coruna.

Griezmann's goals looked to have made the points before midfielder Oriol Riera gave the home side a lifeline with a 78th minute header, although it was too little too late for Deportivo, who remained in the relegation zone.