Lionel Messi scored a controversial 'handball'
goal for Barcelona
Real Madrid were left on the verge of winning the Spanish title on
Saturday after staging yet another dramatic comeback to grab a 2-2
draw at Real Zaragoza while Barcelona surrendered a lead to draw
2-2 with Espanyol.
Barca equalised when Lionel Messi emulated Diego Maradona's famous
'hand of god' goal just before halftime, launching himself at a
cross and using his hand to steer the ball past Espanyol keeper
Carlos Kameni.
Messi struck again early in the second half, this time with a
legitimate goal, sweeping the ball home after a neat turn and pass
from Deco.
Van Nistelrooy equalised for Real at almost the same time, but
their title hopes appeared to have unravelled when Milito fired
under Iker Casillas after a virtuoso run from Pablo Aimar.
Real were still behind in the title race when Van Nistelrooy scored
his 25th goal of the season, poking home from a metre with a minute
to go, but there was still one last twist to come.
A shaky-looking Barca back four left Tamudo free down the right
after misjudging the offside trap and the Espanyol striker drilled
a low angled shot past Victor Valdes to earn his side the 2-2 draw
that put Real back on top.
On hearing of the goal in Barcelona, an ecstatic Real Madrid
president Ramon Calderon ran down on to the pitch at La Romareda
and gave a lap of honour to salute the travelling Real fans.
'It is going to be very difficult to digest this result,' said
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard. 'We missed a great chance, but we
have to keep fighting while it is still mathematically possible.
Tonight could have been so different.'
