Barcelona are still fighting for the title, warns Messi

A star turn from the Argentine helped Barca to an agonising victory on Sunday, keeping their hopes alive in La Liga

Lionel Messi feels Barcelona have taken an important step towards winning La Liga with their sensational 3-2 win over Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu, but has warned they still have a long way to go.

Defeat on Sunday would have effectively ended the Catalans' title hopes, but Messi's stoppage-time winner – his 500th goal for the club – saw them move level on points with their arch-rivals instead.

Madrid will move three points clear of Barcelona again if they see off Celta Vigo in their game in hand, but the Argentine forward remains optimistic over his side's chances of retaining the title.

"We went to the Bernabeu looking for a win to keep ourselves in the battle for the La Liga title," Messi wrote on his official Facebook account."There is still a long way to go, but we came away with the joy of having taken an important step."

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"There is still a long way to go, but we came away with the joy of having taken an important step."