Barcelona vs. Las Palmas: Score, Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

FC Barcelona bounced back from a disappointing midweek loss to Celta Vigo Saturday with a 2-1 home victory over Las Palmas at the Camp Nou, but it didn't come without a price as Lionel Messi was forced to exit early with a significant injury.

Messi was lifted in the 10th minute for Munir El Haddadi after taking a knock to the knee minutes earlier on a shot attempt. He was taken to the hospital for further evaluation, according to Sport English, and it was ultimately determined that he suffered a tear in the internal collateral ligament of his left knee, which will keep him out of action between seven and eight weeks, per Barcelona's official Twitter account.

Despite the loss of their star player, Barca pressed on and won behind a pair of goals from superstar striker Luis Suarez.

The Blaugrana desperately needed to win after getting throttled 4-1 by Celta Vigo Wednesday. That marked their first loss of the season and dropped the reigning La Liga champions to fifth in the standings.

Los Amarillos manager Paco Herrera proved prophetic as he knew entering the match that his squad's chances of winning were low, especially against a motivated Barcelona team, according to PA Sport (h/t ESPN FC): "Saturday's game could be a headache for us considering what happened to Barca in Vigo. We have a 10 per cent chance and we must hold on to that."

Barcelona looked to pour it on early as Messi had a scoring chance from point-blank range, but it was turned away by a Palmas defender. That action put Messi's knee in some discomfort and ultimately led to him being replaced a few minutes later, as seen in this video courtesy of beIN Sports USA:

The severity of the injury was not clear when it initially occurred, but as pointed out by Sid Lowe of The Guardian, the Argentine icon leaving the pitch is the last thing Barca wanted to see:

"

Worst possible news for Barcelona: Messi off. Knee injury. Seemed to twist it on contact with challenge as he was shooting.

— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) September 26, 2015"

Despite his diminutive size, Messi has been remarkably durable over the course of his career. That is evidenced by this stat courtesy of OptaJose:

Messi has been forced out of matches from time to time since his professional debut in 2003, but never earlier than he was Saturday, according to Infostrada Sports:

Seeing Messi leave the match could have had a hugely negative impact on the Blaugrana, but they were able to break through with the first goal of the day in the 25th minute as Suarez headed home a perfect cross from Sergi Roberto:

Remarkably, despite Barca's embarrassment of riches from a goalscoring perspective, Suarez's marker ended a season-long drought for Barcelona in the first half, per WhoScored.com:

There is no question that Barca dominated the first half in terms of possession and scoring chances, but aside from the Uruguayan striker's header, they were unable to beat goalkeeper Javi Varas.

That likely gave Las Palmas some semblance of hope entering the locker room, but it didn't last long, as Suarez struck again nine minutes in to the second half with his high rocket:

Barcelona had a chance to add to their lead in the 66th minute when defender Antolin Alcaraz was penalized for a handball. Neymar—complete with a newly shaved head—took the penalty with Messi out of action, but he fired it over the bar.

That error may have proved fatal in a different match against a tougher opponent, but Barca were able to overcome it by holding on to win.

Things got a bit closer than Barcelona would have liked in the latter stages, however, as Las Palmas forward Jonathan Viera made it 2-1 when his shot deflected off a defender and past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the 88th minute:

Luckily for Barca, Los Amarillos first goal came too late in the match, which allowed the Blaugrana to run out the remainder of the clock.

While there are still many matches left to be played in La Liga this season, Barcelona couldn't afford to fall further behind the likes of Real Madrid, Celta Vigo, Villareal and Athletico Madrid, which is why beating a mid-table team at home was so crucial.

There is very little margin for error in Spanish football, and even though Barca didn't come through with a vintage blowout victory, simply winning was good enough.

Barca remain in contention for the La Liga crown, but there is certainly major concern regarding Messi and his status.

Losing him for up to two months could prove disastrous, although Barcelona have some elite fallback options in Suarez and Neymar, as pointed out by Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC:

Barca boast more depth of talent than almost any club in the world, so they may be the one club capable of handling a loss like Messi. That fact may even give them the luxury of not having to rush Messi back before he is ready.

The Blaugrana have to be smart when it comes to a player of Messi's caliber, and it stands to reason that they'll formulate a plan to make up for the absence of arguably the world's greatest player.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona and their fans would normally be content with a victory in which Suarez netted two goals, but the extenuating circumstances of Messi's injury certainly tempered the enthusiasm.

According to FC Barcelona on Twitter, star midfielder Sergio Busquets couldn't help but to bring up that caveat after the match:

Barca were able to thrive without Messi thanks to the play of Suarez, and they certainly won't have any shortage of talent on the pitch over the next two months with Neymar, Ivan Rakitic and others all perfectly capable of shouldering some of the scoring load.

With that said, Busquets acknowledged that it will be difficult due partly to the fact that Blaugrana's depth has been compromised to some degree by a FIFA transfer ban, per BarcaStuff:

"

Busquets: "Seems messi's injury won't be one or two weeks, but more. We're having bad luck with injuries, more because of Fifa ban."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) September 26, 2015"

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique expressed confidence in his club's ability to overcome the loss of Messi despite his obvious impact on the team:

"

Luis Enrique: "Always sad when a player gets injured, and even more when it's Messi. Injuries are part of football, we'll get through this."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) September 26, 2015"

In fact, he did his best to downplay the Messi situation by refusing to speculate if he could potentially be back to face Real Madrid on Nov. 22:

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Luis Enrique: "Messi back for clasico? I'm not looking at the calendar. Focus on the next game, on Tuesday against Leverkusen." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) September 26, 2015"

He also made it clear that both fans and opponents can expect the same brand of Barca football as always even without Messi in the fold:

"

Luis Enrique: "We won't change our style of playing with Messi injured. He decides a lot of games, but the team has to step up now."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) September 26, 2015"

Although Blaugrana lost their best player and had to cling to a one-goal victory, Luis Enrique wasn't totally down on his team as he thought they performed fairly well overall:

Luis Enrique has been very lucky during his tenure at Barca to have a player of Messi's caliber at his disposal, but he will truly earn his keep over the next couple months based on the way he manages his roster and strategizes.

Barca have some extremely tough matches coming up, including a Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen Tuesday.

Playing that match without Messi is far from ideal, but Barcelona still have the horses needed to thrive and play winning football.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.