Lionel Messi marked his 400th appearance in La Liga with an early goal as the leaders Barcelona beat Levante at the Camp Nou to restore their nine-point advantage. After a positive start from Levante, who had lost all their 11 games in La Liga at the Camp Nou, Barcelona swept into the lead. Levante offered a threat at the other end on 19 minutes when Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to be alert to push a low shot from Ivi López behind. Levante almost reduced the deficit at the start of the second half when Ivi again forced Ter Stegen into a fine reaction save. Fourth-placed Real now trail Barcelona, by 16 points, albeit with a match in hand.

Source: The Guardian January 07, 2018 17:51 UTC