BARCELONA — Lionel Messi scored his 300th and 301st career goals for Barcelona and extended his record-scoring run to 14 Spanish league games in a 2-1 comeback win at Granada Saturday, four days before it visits AC Milan. Messi pounced on a rebound of Cesc Fabregas' strike five minutes after halftime to cancel out Odion Ighalo's opener that had come against the flow of play in the 26th. The Argentina star then claimed the victory in the 73rd with a brilliantly struck free kick to record his 17th multi-goal game of the season and take his league-leading goal tally to 37 goals. Despite the result, Granada confirmed its revival under new coach Lucas Alcaraz, which included a win over Real Madrid two rounds ago. But even the minnow's best efforts weren't enough against Barcelona's all-time leading scorer who again proved impossible to stop. It was Barcelona's first win in three away matches before it heads to San Siro Wednesday in the Champions League last 16. Barcelona stayed on course to reclaim the Spanish league title with its 21st win in 24 rounds. It leads Atletico Madrid by 15 points and Madrid. Madrid's deficit to the leader is its largest since May 1996 when it trailed Atletico by 20. Earlier, Malaga edged out Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Javier Saviola's first-half goal and Willy Caballero's sound goalkeeping ahead of its Champions League game at Porto. Saviola scooped Lucas Piazon's low cross into the net to score what proved to be the winner at La Rosaleda Stadium in the 18th. Malaga, which visits Portuguese champion Porto on Tuesday, pulled to within four points of third-place Madrid. With Wednesday's game at Milan in mind, Barcelona rested regular starters Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol, while Xavi Hernandez (left calf) and David Villa (kidney stones) were both unavailable. Granada forward Carlos Aranda launched a counterattack and lobbed a cross to the far post that Manuel "Nolito" Agudo knocked down for Ighalo to push over the goalline and ignite the Los Carmenes Stadium crowd. However, Messi saved barcelona blushes. Also, mid-table Getafe eased to a 3-1 win to keep Celta Vigo in the relegation zone, while Osasuna pushed Real Zaragoza to the brink of the drop with a 1-0 home victory. On Friday, Sevilla beat last-place Deportivo La Coruna 3-1. — AP
