Barcelona threatens Atletico Madrid title hopes with latest La Liga victory

The Spanish La Liga title race is heating up. It looked like Atletico Madrid was going to run away with the title this season, but FC Barcelona has just issued a warning, as they closed the gap to just four points after their victory on Monday against Huesca.

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona logged an emphatic 4-1 victory at the Camp Nou. They now have 59 points against Atletico's 63. Barcelona has also skipped over Real Madrid to take over second place once again. Los Blancos are not far behind with 57 points all from 27 matches. With 11 games still left in the season, there is still enough time for both Barcelona and Real Madrid to challenge Atletico's bid for the title.

It was a monumental evening for the Barcelona captain, who appeared in his 767th match for the Catalan side. This means that he has equalled and will most likely overtake Xavi's record for most number of appearances for Barcelona.

Messi scored the opening goal in the 13th minute before Antoine Griezmann doubled the lead. Huesca pulled one back via a controversial penalty before the break, after he was fouled by Barça keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

However, Oscar Mingueza scored another goal for Barcelona early in the second half, and Messi sealed the 4-1 victory by scoring his second goal in the final minute.

Barcelona is looking fired up despite having been eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain from the UEFA Champions League just days before. The club is determined to salvage their season, which has been marred by the "Barçagate" controversy.

Following the election of new club president Joan Laporta, first team manager Ronald Koeman is convinced that the future is bright for the club. He also believes that the positive changes will be enough to convince Messi to stay.

The 33-year-old Argentine's father was scheduled to meet with Laporta on Monday to discuss his contract renewal, but no news has come out about the outcome of the meeting just yet.