Barca reliance on Messi underlined in escape act at Villarreal

Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Villarreal v FC Barcelona - Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal, Spain - April 2, 2019 Barcelona players celebrate their fourth goal REUTERS/Heino Kalis

VILA-REAL (Reuters) - Barcelona's thrilling 4-4 draw with Villarreal on Tuesday has been hailed as the game of the season in Spain but yet again it showed the La Liga leaders' vulnerability whenever they try to give Lionel Messi a breather.

With a top-of-the-table showdown against Atletico Madrid and two Champions League quarter-final games against Manchester United coming up, Barca coach Ernesto Valverde understandably opted to rest his talisman.