La Liga: Lionel Messi Subbed With Groin Injury In 2-1 Win Over Villarreal

Barcelona was not impeded by the substitution of Lionel Messi for a groin injury and went on to claim a 2-1 win over Villarreal at Nou Camp Stadium on Tuesday.

The hosts had gone ahead in the lead by two goals up before the Argentine ace went down with an injury to his groin following a challenge after half-hour of play and was replaced by Ousmane Dembele.

Messi was making his first appearance with the team in a league since his return from a calf injury that had him ruled for all preseason tour matches. The extent of the injury has not been mentioned but the 32-year-old will yet again need medical attention.

Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann had opened the scoring early into the game with a header following a corner, and in the 15th minutes, Arthur Melo smacked a 30-yard shot home.

Villarreal was able to cut down the lead through Santi Cazorla in the 44th minutes but went down in defeat as Barca held down the lead to the full-time.

Barcelona retained their unbeaten run against Villarreal in 20 league matches - the winning streak has lasted since 2008 when Barca was beaten 1-2 at home.