Barcelona got a slim 1-0 victory over Levante in the Spanish La Liga on Sunday at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored in the second half to give the team their first win in three games.

Barcelona lost to Cadiz in the La Liga last weekend and lost to Italian side Juventus in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

Barcelona had already qualified for the next stage of the UEFA Champions League. Still, the 3-0 loss to Juventus inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a brace in the game, meant that the team finished second behind the Italian Giants in the group and will be expecting a group winner in the round of 16 draws on Monday.

Barcelona should have taken the lead in the first half, but the team failed to score due to poor finishing and Levante’s goalkeeper’s brilliance between the sticks.

Messi scored from a Frenkie De Jong assist in the 76th minute to give Ronald Koeman’s men the win. It is the Argentine’s first goal in four matches, with his last goal coming in the game against Osasuna on the 29th of November.

The win takes Barcelona to 8th on the table with 17 points from 11 games while Levante are in the relegation zone in 18th position with 11 points from 12 games.

Up next for Barcelona is a UEFA Champions League round of 16 draws for Monday 14th of December when they would get to know their knockout stage opponents before facing Real Sociedad and Valencia on Wednesday and next weekend, respectively.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Saturday in the Madrid Derby to reduce the gap from table-topping Real Sociedad to three points. A goal from Casemiro and an own goal from Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak was all Real Madrid needed to secure the win.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu