BARCELONA (Reuters) - Lionel Messi kept his nerve from the penalty spot to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday and return his side to the top of the table.
Barca's all-time top scorer calmly chipped the ball into the net in the 81st minute after Sociedad defender Robin Le Normand had been penalised following a VAR review for hitting the ball with his arm as he contested a cross.
Barca looked to have scored a second goal deep in injury time when Jordi Alba slotted in a cross from substitute Ansu Fati but another VAR review determined that the teenage forward had been narrowly offside when he received the ball from Messi. "We have seen several similar situations punished with a penalty recently so as soon as I saw it I thought it was handball," he added.
Barca were under extra pressure to win after losing last week's 'Clasico' 2-0 away to Madrid and surrendering top spot to their rivals, and were up against a Sociedad side on a run of six straight victories in all competitions.
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