Lionel Messi came off the bench to move Barcelona to within two points of clinching the La Liga title with a 4-2 win over Real Betis at Camp Nou on Sunday. Dorlan Pabon and Ruben Perez had twice given the visitors the lead in the first-half either side of Alexis Sanchez's equaliser. However, after David Villa had once again levelled the scores, it was unsurprisingly left to Messi to decide matters as within three minutes of coming on he fired in a wonderful free-kick and then was on hand to tap home at the end of a flowing move involving Sanchez and Andres Iniesta.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who is struggling to overcome a hamstring injury, is fit to play in the club's Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich, the Spanish club's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said on Monday. "Messi is with the team and is fit to play, although it is ultimately up to the coaching staff to decide," the former Spain goalkeeper told reporters before Barcelona headed to Germany for Tuesday's match. "We're not going to give up on fielding the best possible side on the pitch," he added.

Lionel Messi once again rode to Barcelona's rescue as they squeezed past Paris Saint-Germain on away goals to qualify for an unprecedented sixth consecutive Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night. However, having been outplayed by the visitors for the first hour, their dependence on Messi was exposed as despite struggling with a hamstring injury that forced him to start the match on the bench, the four-time World Player of the Year was called upon for the final half hour with his side trailing to Javier Pastore's goal on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

By Iain Rogers BARCELONA (Reuters) - Andres Iniesta admitted this week that Barcelona suffer from "Messi-dependence" and his view was painfully highlighted as the favourites laboured in the Champions League quarter-final clash against Paris St Germain on Wednesday. Messi started on the bench at the Nou Camp after straining a hamstring in last week's 2-2 first leg draw in Paris and for the hour before his introduction, Barca produced a flat performance despite the best efforts of the home fans to rouse the players.