Valencia vs. Barcelona: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Lionel Messi netted a brace, including a game-winning conversion from the penalty spot in the 94th minute, as Barcelona narrowly escaped Mestalla Stadium with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Valencia in La Liga on Saturday.

Luis Suarez also scored for Barca, who moved atop the league table for the time being with 19 points from nine matches. All of the other clubs occupying the top of the standings hold a match in hand, however, meaning their lead may not last long.

Meanwhile, Los Che put together a strong performance that could have resulted in three points on another day with a different referee. But goals from Munir and Rodrigo weren't enough as the side suffered its sixth loss of the season, leaving the Los Che in 15th place.

Valencia manager Cesare Prandelli admitted coming into the fixture he didn't own a secret formula to slow down Messi. Instead, he praised the dynamic Argentinian after his midweek hat-trick against Manchester City in Champions League play, per Richard Martin of the Daily Mirror.

"Messi is fantasy football, he is what every child dreams about, because he is proof that when you have character, determination and talent you can make history," Prandelli said. "All the children in the world want to be Messi and I'm proud to face him."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner wasted little time proving the opposing boss' point.

Messi put Barcelona ahead in the 22nd minute, albeit in controversial fashion. The in-form forward took a pass from Ivan Rakitic near the top of the box and used Suarez, who was in offside position, as a screen to beat Diego Alves for the opening goal.

Although Los Che immediately appealed for an offside flag, the referee and his assistant opted against making the call against Suarez, who didn't attempt to touch the shot.

Gabriele Marcotti of ESPN thought Barca caught a break:

Nevertheless, WhoScored noted Messi continued to climb the goalscoring chart:

The goal was one of several borderline calls that went against the home side in the opening 45 minutes. But Valencia were actually the better squad for the remaining portion of the first half after the Messi tally.

Nani appeared to have a step on Samuel Umtiti in the box when the Barcelona defender bumped him to the ground. Shouts for a penalty from the increasingly frustrated Los Che supporters were ignored.

Valencia continued to amplify the pressure, and Daniel Parejo nearly found an equaliser in the final moments before half-time. He managed to break free in the box, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen came up with a terrific stop in the one-on-one situation.

Aside from the entertaining back-and-forth action, the other notable moment in the first half was longtime Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta being forced to leave due to injury. Though the extent of the ailment wasn't immediately clear, he was in obvious pain while getting stretched off.

Ben Hayward of Goal commented on the injury, which caused the captain to leave the pitch inside the first 15 minutes:

Valencia carried over their aggressive play from the first half after the break, and it finally translated into some success in the final third.

Parejo showed great vision to direct a pass into the path of La Masia product Munir, who illustrated his immense potential with a calm finish into the corner of the net for the long-awaited tying goal. The Barcelona loanee made a tough play look easy.

Sport English remarked on the 53rd-minute equaliser:

Four minutes later, Los Che grabbed the lead courtesy of Rodrigo. A nice buildup led to Nani delivering a sublime chip pass in the direction of the Spanish forward, who smashed an equally impressive half-volley into the far side of the net to send the fans into a frenzy.

Sam Marsden of ESPN FC pointed out the change of emotion from the Valencia supporters after they spent much of the first half voicing their displeasure toward the officials:

It was a short-lived advantage, however.

Barcelona got back level just after the hour mark as Suarez blasted a rebound by Alves, who'd made a solid parry to prevent a Rakitic header from finding a net off the corner. But the Valencia goalkeeper had no chance to stop the rocket from the polarising Uruguayan.

BarcaStuff noted Suarez seems to enjoy going up against Los Che:

"

Luis Suarez has scored more all comps goals against Valencia than any other team (7) #fcblive [opta]

— Barcastuff (@barcastuff_real) October 22, 2016"

Nani had a golden opportunity to give Valencia a shock lead late, but his 82nd-minute effort went excruciatingly wide. It's a chance the 29-year-old veteran certainly should have capitalised on.

Sure enough, Barcelona took advantage of the mistake. Suarez got taken down in the box late in stoppage time and Messi slotted the ensuing penalty just beyond the reach of Alves to secure all three points for the visitors, who were outplayed for extended stretches during the match.

Ives Galarcep of Goal noted the star power for the Blaugrana shined through once again:

Looking ahead, Barcelona have a full week before their next match after a busy stretch coming out of the international break. They'll look to get some much-needed rest before returning to action next Saturday against Granada. That's followed by a UCL rematch with Man City on Nov. 1.

Valencia deserved much better than a last-second loss given their play throughout Saturday's fixture. That said, if they can maintain that level of play moving forward, they should start climbing the table in the weeks ahead. Next up is a clash with Deportivo La Coruna on Oct. 31.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique doesn't know exactly how much time Iniesta is going to miss, but he's not expecting a simple short-term absence, per FC Barcelona Fl.

"I don't know how long Iniesta will be out, but it will be weeks. I'm sure," he said.

The club's official Twitter feed provided reaction from Suarez, who thought the comeback win really showcased Barca's collective heart of the champion.

"It feels much better to win like that, we showed why we are the current league champions," the striker said.

Meanwhile, the Valencia boss unsurprisingly lamented the calls that didn't go his side's way during the course of a physical match, as relayed by TotalBarca.

"Liga referees have too much respect for big teams," Prandelli concluded.