Lionel Messi equals Pelé’s 643 club goals, Barça held by Valencia
Barcelona, Dec 20: Lionel Messi has another individual scoring milestone, but he sure doesn't have a team that looks like a champion.
Messi equalled Pel 's all-time club scoring tally on Saturday in a 2-2 draw with Valencia. His 643rd career goal for Barcelona since his 2004 debut matched Pel 's tally for Santos from 1957-74.
Messi is Barcelona's and the Spanish league's all-time leading scorer.
In January 2018, he became the most prolific scorer among Europe's top leagues when he reached 366 league goals, surpassing Gerd Mueller's Bundesliga mark of 365. Messi had already surpassed Gerd Mueller's single-year goal mark by scoring 86 times in 2012.
Pel congratulated the Argentina forward on social media: "Like you, I know what it's like to love wearing the same shirt every day. Like you, I know that there is nothing better than the place we feel at home.
"Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel," Pel added.
"But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately will be increasingly rare in football."
Pel 's comments went right to the heart of Messi's uncertain situation at Barcelona.
Messi has yet to recant on his announcement last summer that he wanted to leave the club which is no longer the dominant force that he had done so much to forge over the past two decades.
His contract expires in June, and he will be free to negotiate with other clubs come January.
The latest setback by Barcelona left Ronald Koeman's team in fifth place and eight points adrift of league leader Atl tico Madrid, which got two goals by Luis Su rez to beat Elche 3-1.
Messi cancelled out Mouctar Diakhaby's opener for Valencia when he scored in first half injury time moments after Jaume Dom nech saved his penalty shot.
Jordi Alba recovered the rebound of Dom nech's save and crossed it to the far post where Messi headed it in.
Central defender Ronald Ara jo scored his first career goal for Barcelona with an acrobatic kick for 2-1 at Camp Nou in the 53rd.
But Jos Gay set up Maxi G mez to hit back for Valencia in the 69th and split the points.
GROWING PAINS
Koeman attributed the slip to the youth of his team, which he is trying to build around a veteran core. Koeman gave consecutive starts to Ara jo and scar Mingueza, both 21, and entrusted playmaking duties to 18-year-old Pedro Pedri Gonz lez. Sergi o Dest, at 20, has become his undisputed starter at right back with Sergio Roberto injured.
"The age of some players can explain why there is a certain inconsistency because consistency comes from playing together for a long time," Koeman said.
"We lacked control and lost too many balls in defense sometimes. I saw my team have doubts."
A botched marking scheme made it easier for Diakhaby to head in Valencia's opener in the 29th when Antoine Griezmann -- who is significantly shorter than the center back -- lost his mark of him during a corner kick.
"We don't have many tall players to defend their tallest ones but we cannot leave anyone wide open," Koeman said.
"We have to at least be there, be engaged."
SU REZ SCORES
Su rez's goals were his first since he recovered from the coronavirus. He isn't the voracious scorer he used to be at Barcelona before changing clubs this summer, but he is still a world-class finisher when his teammates get him the ball in scoring position.
Substitute Diego Costa, who replaced Jo o F lix after he took a hard knock, put the result beyond doubt for Atletico when he earned and converted a penalty with 10 minutes remaining in his first appearance after missing seven games due to injury.
The league leaders moved three points clear of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, which lost at Levante 2-1.
SOCIEDAD UPSET
Levante overcame an opening goal by Sociedad to get a win that pulled it out of the relegation zone. Levante outplayed Sociedad in the second half and Jorge de Frutos blasted in the winner with three minutes remaining.
OTHER RESULTS
Spain striker Gerard Moreno scored his league-leading seventh and eighth goals to lead fourth-place Villarreal's 3-1 victory at 10-man Osasuna, leaving it one point behind Madrid.
Sevilla missed the chance to move ahead of Barcelona after conceding a late goal in a 1-1 draw with Valladolid.
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TN polls: TVK pushes DMK behind with leads in 83 seats, AIADMK ahead in 54
Chennai (PTI): New entrant TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay, was leading in as many as 83 constituencies on Monday when counting of votes polled in the April 23 Assembly polls was on across Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK was leading in 58 seats while the ruling DMK was ahead in 34, EC data showed.
About two hours after the postal ballots were counted and EVMs opened for multi-round counting, Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam surged ahead of its Dravidian rivals-- the DMK and the AIADMK, with the ruling party struggling to catch up.
If the trends maintain, Vijay could as well ensure the biggest electoral upset, something in lines with the "1967,1977" wins he had referred to in his campaign speeches.
While the Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai brought the first non-Congress government in Tamil Nadu post-independence in 1967, the charismatic MG Ramachandran (MGR) installed the maiden AIADMK government 10 years later, unseating then DMK government under M Karunanidhi. TVK was leading in most Chennai segments, all considered DMK strongholds and currently represented by the party in the 234-member House.
A poor show by DMK could belie most exit polls giving an edge to it, riding on the number of populist measures Chief Minister M K Stalin had implemented in his five year "Dravidian model," inclusive governance.
According to EC and TV reports, 15 cabinet ministers, including Stalin were trailing. His son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi was also behind in his incumbent Chepauk-Tirvuvallikeni seat, according to a number of reports.
Stalin was trailing behind TVK's VS Babu by 1234 votes in Kolathur segment. Vijay was ahead in Tiruchirappalli East by over 3,000 votes at the end of two rounds of counting, according to EC data.
BJP is trailing in 26 constituencies and it is ahead in Thali segment alone. TVK is ahead in constituencies including Ponneri, Tiruvallur, Poonamalle, and Avadi.
AIADMK is leading in segments including Katpadi, and Guidyattam and party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is ahead in Edappadi segment by 7003 votes.
DMK was leading in segments including Vellore, Anaikattu and Rishivandiyam.
