Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona’s unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
Franco Vazquez opened the scoring from close range in the 36th minute during Saturday's clash and Colombia international Luis Muriel doubled the home side’s lead by smashing in on the rebound five minutes into the second half.
Messi had began the game on the bench due to continued muscle discomfort which caused him to miss Argentina’s friendlies against Italy and Spain and the league’s top scorer was called into action in the 58th minute, replacing Ousmane Dembele, reports Reuters.
Barca were instantly lifted by the Argentine’s arrival and Luis Suarez rattled the near post but Sevilla continued to pour forward and Vazquez and Muriel missed clear chances to put the game to bed.
They paid dear for their wastefulness as Suarez pulled one back for Barca with an acrobatic finish in the 88th minute following a corner and Messi whipped in the equaliser in the 89th with a venomous left-foot strike.
The goal stretched the Catalans’ unbeaten league run to 37 games and if they avoid defeat next week at home to Leganes they will equal Real Sociedad’s Liga record of 38 games without defeat, which has stood since 1980.
The Catalan giant top the standings on 76 points but if second-placed Atletico Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday their advantage at the top will be cut to nine. Champions Real Madrid are third on 62 after beating Las Palmas 3-0.
Sevilla, who are sixth in the table, have not beaten Barcelona since October 2015 although they will get another chance to overcome Ernesto Valverde's side when the teams meet in the Copa del Rey final on 21 April, according to a BBC report.
The teams could also still meet in the Champions League.
Barcelona are chasing a European and domestic treble and host Roma in the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, while Sevilla entertain Bayern Munich the day before.