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European roundup: Messi breaks Pele record as Juventus lose to Fiorentina

Juventus suffered a rare defeat to lose ground in the Serie A title race.

Lionel Messi made more history as Barcelona got back to winning ways in LaLiga while Juventus' unbeaten start to the Serie A season came to an abrupt end after losing 3-0 at home to struggling Fiorentina.

Messi scored for the 644th time for the Catalan giants in a routine 3-0 victory at Real Valladolid, with the Argentinian breaking Pele's record for the most goals at a single club.

The Barca captain, into his 17th season at the Nou Camp, was teed up by a Pedri backheel midway through the second half before finding the back of the net with a trademark left-foot finish.

Lionel Messi celebrated his record-breaking goal with Pedri
Lionel Messi celebrated his record-breaking goal with Pedri (Cesar Manso/Pool via AP)

By this stage, the visitors were already cruising thanks to first-half goals from Clement Lenglet and Martin Braithwaite as they extended their unbeaten run to four matches.

They were held at home to Valencia at the weekend but took charge on Tuesday night when Lenglet headed home from Messi's cross after 21 minutes while Braithwaite turned in Sergino Dest's ball from the right after half an hour.

Messi then ensured he would claim the headlines, having equalled Pele's record at the weekend, as Barca stayed fifth in the table.

League leaders Atletico Madrid moved three points clear of nearest challengers and city rivals Real after a routine 2-0 victory at third-placed Real Sociedad.

Mario Hermoso struck just after the interval and Marcos Llorente gave the away side breathing room a quarter of an hour from the end as Atletico, who have a game in hand over Real Madrid, consolidated their lead at the summit.

Fourth-placed Villarreal missed the chance to take advantage of Sociedad's slip-up after being held to a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao, who took the lead through Inaki Williams only to be pegged back by substitute Yeremi Pino.

Elsewhere, Suso struck nine minutes from time to give Sevilla a 1-0 win at Valencia.

Gonzalo Melero rescued a 1-1 draw for Levante at rock-bottom Huesca, who took the lead through Javi Ontiveros' first-half penalty only to be denied a second win of the campaign as they conceded after the interval.

Ruben Garcia and Darko Brasanac scored as second-bottom Osasuna twice took the lead at Elche, who claimed a 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Fidel and Guido Carrillo. Osasuna had Inigo Perez sent off late on.

In Serie A, Juventus succumbed to a galling result which leaves the defending champions well adrift of league leaders AC Milan.

Fiorentina claimed a surprise win at Juventus (Fabio Ferrari/AP/PA)
Fiorentina claimed a surprise win at Juventus (Fabio Ferrari/AP/PA)

The Bianconeri thrashed Parma at the weekend but fell behind after just three minutes following Dusan Vlahovic's finish while matters worsened for the home side a quarter of an hour later when Juan Cuadrado was sent off.

Andrea Pirlo reshuffled his pack, taking off Aaron Ramsey after 20 minutes, to the chagrin of the Welshman who kicked over a bottle upon leaving the field, but the sacrifice made a minimal impact as Juve struggled with 10 men.

Franck Ribery, whose defence-splitting pass allowed Vlahovic to score the opener, teed up Cristiano Biraghi and his cross was inadvertently turned into the net by Alex Sandro after 76 minutes.

Martin Caceres then added salt into the wounds five minutes later, the former Juventus man completing a simple finish after a low ball across the six-yard box from the Biraghi.

Victory moved Fiorentina five points clear of the relegation zone while Juve, who had won six and drawn six of their 12 games in the Italian top-flight this season, are now seven points off table-topping Milan.

Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Crotone climbed off the foot of the standings as they claimed only their second win of the campaign, edging out fellow strugglers Parma 2-1.

Junior Messias struck in the 24th and 44th minutes, meaning Juraj Kucka's goal before the hour was a mere consolation for Parma.

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Lionel Messi in action for Barcelona on December 19, 2020
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona18122450203038
2Atletico MadridAtletico17115131112038
3Real Madrid17114237162137
4Athletic Bilbao1896327161133
5Mallorca188371821-327
6Villarreal167542827126
7Real Sociedad177461611525
8Osasuna176742225-325
9Real BetisBetis176652021-124
10GironaGirona176472325-222
11Sevilla176471823-522
12Celta Vigo176382528-321
13Rayo Vallecano165561819-120
14Las PalmasLas Palmas175482227-519
15Leganes174671523-818
16Getafe173771114-316
17AlavesAlaves174491928-916
18Espanyol1642101528-1314
19Real ValladolidValladolid1733111234-2212
20Valencia152491323-1010


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