Lionel Messi news: Barcelona's talisman marks the podium for Cristiano Ronaldo's penalties

Lionel Messi has joined Cristiano Ronaldo for half a century of penalties in La Liga. The Barcelona superstar scored his 50th goal on the field, setting a six-year record.

A talismanic presence for the Blaugrana was back among the goals against Valencia on Saturday.

Ernesto Valverde's team was surprisingly down 2-0 at this Camp Nou competition.

Los Che controlled perfectly after 32 minutes thanks to goals from Kevin Gameiro and Dani Parejo, but Messi had to take a lifeline for Barca before half-time.

Nelson Semedo was hit inside the box, giving his captain an opportunity to pbad 12 yards. Messi has made no mistake in reducing Valencia's advantage in half.

This effort led to half a century of successful penalties in the high-end Spanish, while bringing Valencia's lead back to one goal.

He is just the third man to reach that goal – Ronaldo proved prolific during his stay at Real Madrid, while former Blanco striker Hugo Sanchez was also a murderer.

While beating a record in terms of penalty conversions, Messi also extended an impressive series of goals scored against the net against Valencia.

At 31, the 31-year-old has seen a break in action at the Copa del Rey, but he remains the man of confidence in Barcelona to defend his title in La Liga.

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Since January 2013, Messi has not experienced such a good performance in the Spanish high league. He has now 11 in his last nine games, marking his best performance in six years.

Messi has already dominated the La Liga scorers standings for 2018-19 by approaching a home date with Valencia and has now strengthened his lead over the chasing peloton.

He now has 21 attempts after adding a penalty to Los Che with an equalizer in the 64th minute for Barca.