BARCELONA — Lionel Messi squeezed home a stoppage-time penalty to grab a thrilling 3-2 win for champion Barcelona in a controversial La Liga match at Valencia Saturday.
Talisman Messi scored against Valencia for the 10th season in a row to put the visitors ahead in the 22nd minute although teammate Luis Suarez was in an offside position and obstructing the view of goalkeeper Diego Alves.
Earlier, Barca captain Andres Iniesta was carried off on a stretcher due to a knee injury while Sergio Busquets was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card before the break.
Valencia turned the game around in four second-half minutes, Munir El Haddadi equalizing against his parent club and Rodrigo Moreno putting the host ahead in the 56th.
Suarez lashed the ball home to pull Barca level and after Nani had missed a gilt-edged chance for Valencia, the Uruguayan won a penalty in the dying seconds that Messi sneaked just under the grasp of Alves.
Barca is top of the table on 19 points. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, both on 18, play Sunday against Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao respectively.
Valencia's Mestalla stadium was full for the first time this season as fans welcomed new coach Cesare Prandelli for his maiden home game, having won 2-1 at Sporting Gijon the week before.
Elsewhere, troubled Espanyol produced a stirring second-half comeback from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at home to Eibar and ease the pressure on coach Quique Sanchez Flores.
Dortmund slips
Borussia Dortmund salvaged a 3-3 draw at lowly Ingolstadt, while Hertha Berlin kept its dream start going by moving joint-top in the Bundesliga Saturday.
Christian Pulisic, a second-half substitute, scored one and set up another to prevent Dortmund from slumping to its third defeat of the season. He prodded home the equalizer from close range in the last minute after Orjan Nyland saved Lukasz Piszczek's initial effort.
Meanwhile, Hertha defeated previously unbeaten Cologne 2-1 in a hectic game at home to move level with Bayern Munich.
DARMSTADT 3, WOLFSBURG 1
Valerien Ismael's tenure at Wolfsburg got off to a rocky start when last defender Jeffrey Bruma was sent off for denying a clear goal chance. The team lost 3-1 to Darmstadt. Ismael's predecessor, Dieter Hecking, was sacked Monday.
In another matches, Hoffenheim shocked Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 and Freiburg edged Augsburg 2-1. —Agencies
