Lionel Messi's Double Strike Assures Win for Barcelona

Lionel Messi did it again. The Agentinian striker scored two goals to help FC Barcelona beat CA Osasuna 2-1 in the La Liga 2012 on Sunday night.

It was sweet revenge for Barcelona, as they were denied the title in the last season after a surprise defeat to Osasuna.

It looked like Osasuna was set to repeat the result of their last meeting at Pamplona after Joseba Llorente made good use of Roland Lamah's cross by sending the ball into the net in the 17th minute. Lionel Messi, however, struck twice in the second half to the dismay of the home team.

It may be recalled that Osasuna beat Barcelona 3-2 in their last meeting on February 11, 2012.

Messi scored from Alexis Sanchez's pass in the 76th minute and equilised the score. He struck again in the 80th minute for the winner. It was his fourth goal of the season and he tops the scoring charts now. He had earlier scored two goals against Real Sociedad.

Osasuna gave good performance but Barca's goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who was criticized for his blunder in the match against Real Madrid, denied strike from Alvaro Cejudo and Juan Francisco Martínez.

In fact, Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova was sent off following his furious reaction to Martinez's shot that hit the post. The Osasuna striker had only the goalkeeper to beat, as he moved past Sergio Busquets.

The match took a different turn as Osasuna was reduced to 10 men in the 76th minute after Francisco Punal was sent off for arguing with the referee that Messi's first goal was offside. Barcelona took hold of the one-man advantage to beat their opponent.

It was Barcelona's third consecutive wins in the Spanish Super Cup 2012. They had earlier defeated Real Sociedad 5-1 in the opening game and then Real Madrid 3-2 on Friday.

Barcelona will now face Real Madrid on Thursday (August 30).