Football: Alexis, Messi see Barca past Depor

MADRID: Barcelona assistant manager Jordi Roura was delighted finally to keep a clean sheet as the Catalans extended their lead at the top of the table to 14 points with a 2-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna on Saturday night. With a huge game to come against AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, Roura named a much-changed side with Lionel Messi only starting on the bench. However, after Alexis Sanchez had given Barca a deserved half-time lead, Messi came on and sealed the three points with a lovely finish two minutes from time to extend his scoring streak in the league to 17 matches. It was ending an unwanted streak as Barca didn’t concede for the first time in 14 games stretching back to early January.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2013.