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Messi gives Barcelona 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid
BARCELONA, FEB 27 (AP/UNB) - Lionel Messi scored from a late free kick to give Barcelona a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, keeping alive his team's faint hopes of winning a fourth consecutive Spanish league title.Despite its first away victory in three games, Barcelona is still 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's superb back-heeled goal in his team's hard-fought 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano earlier.
After Radamel Falcao had canceled out Dani Alves' opener for Barcelona, Messi caught Atletico's players unawares while they were trying to form a defensive wall by looping a perfectly placed shot into the far side of the net in the 81st minute.
It was Atletico's first loss in 10 games under new coach Diego Simeone.