Lionel Messi embarrasses Gorka Iraizoz with free-kick for Barcelona
Saturday 4 February 2017 20:16, UK
It was an afternoon to forget for Athletic Bilbao keeper Gorka Iraizoz whose howler helped gift Lionel Messi another goal for Barcelona.
Visitors Bilbao made a decent start at the Nou Camp, only to find themselves trailing to Paco Alcacer's 18th-minute opener.
Things went from bad to worse when they conceded a free-kick five minutes before half-time, with Messi stepping up to whip in the delivery from the right.
The Argentine aimed for the near post and Iraizoz failed to get back in time, unwittingly enabling the ball to flap under his arms and into the back of the net.
It was a killer blow to Bilbao's hopes and they went on to concede a third midway through the second half as Aleix Vidal completed the rout.
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With the game already safe, Messi was substituted after the interval.
But by then he had already joined Luis Suarez as the joint La Liga top scorer with 16 goals apiece, helping Barca close the gap on Real Madrid in the process to just one point.
See Messi's free-kick embarrass Iraizoz by clicking on the video at the top of the page.
