Messi threads a through ball looking for Neymar, but the move is cut short when Neymar is flagged offside.

Messi meets Dani Alves’s pass and fires a left‑footed shot from the right side of the six‑yard box, but goalkeeper Kiko Casilla saves in the centre of the goal.

Drifting into the box from the left, Messi unleashes a right‑footed shot that is blocked after being set up by Jordi Alba.

Moments later Messi rises in the centre of the box to head Dani Alves’s cross, sending his effort just over the bar.

Messi drops deep into his own half, carrying the ball under pressure and drawing a foul to win a defensive‑zone free kick.

Messi looks to break the line but is caught offside as he runs onto a through ball from Dani Alves.

Messi combines on the right and lays the ball off for Dani Alves, whose right‑footed shot from the box is blocked.

Receiving a pass from Cesc Fàbregas, Messi fires a left‑footed shot from the centre of the box, but the attempt is blocked by the Espanyol defence.

From a tight angle on the left, Messi latches onto a pass from Dani Alves and strikes with his left foot, only to see the shot blocked.

Messi breaks the deadlock from the spot, coolly converting a penalty with a left‑footed shot into the bottom left corner to put Barcelona 1–0 up.

Released by a through ball from Andrés Iniesta, Messi drives a left‑footed shot from outside the box, but his effort is blocked.

From a direct free kick outside the area, Messi bends a left‑footed shot that whistles just wide of the right post.

Messi slips a clever pass to Alexis Sánchez on the right, leading to a tight‑angle shot that is saved low at the near post.

In the closing moments, Messi carries the ball in the attacking half and is fouled, earning Barcelona a dangerous late free kick.