From the Hindustan Times:
Lionel Messi saved Barcelona’s blushes with an injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw away at Athletic Bilbao as Real Madrid stretched their lead at the top of the Spanish league with a 7-1 drubbing of Osasuna.
In the rain-hit Basque country Ander Herrera opened the scoring for Athletic only for Cesc Fabregas to pull Barca level on 24 minutes.
When Barca defender Gerard Pique put the ball into his own net with 10 minutes remaining, Athletic looked all set to hand the European champions their first league defeat of the season.
In a frantic finish to the match, however, Messi made the most of a defensive mistake to pounce on a loose ball and score his 14th in the league and first away from the Nou Camp this season.
It means Real, on 28, lead Barcelona (25) by three points with Valencia (24) in third a point further adrift.
The rain had fallen all day in Bilbao but the conditions did not affect the quality of football as both sides looked for the win from start to finish.
“LIKE A JEDI KNIGHT— no, better than that— A TEMPLAR KNIGHT. This is a FLASH OF PURE INSPIRATION, and let me tip my hat to the genesis of this goal: Ibarra. Lionel only absolutely LIGHTS IT UP here, he LIFTS OFF IT, FLAMETHROWERS IT PAST poor Reny Vega. It’s just as well Reny didn’t get a hand to that because it would have TAKEN IT OFF HIS WRIST. Superlative football and an out of this world BERNINI SCULPTURE of a finish." GOL TV Commentator Ray Hudson
