Messi nets 2 in Barça win at Bilbao; Atlético upset in Copa

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi scored two goals to lead Barcelona to a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league, while Atlético Madrid was ousted from the Copa del Rey by a third-tier side on Wednesday.

Teenager Pedro "Pedri" González canceled out Iñaki William's opener for Bilbao before Messi added two goals to secure an away win for Barcelona that lifted it into third place.

Atlético leads the league but lost 1-0 at third-tier Cornellà in the Copa del Rey's round of 32 — a result that means Diego Simeone's side can focus even more on the La Liga title race.

ATLÉTICO HUMBLED

It's the second year in a row that Atlético lost to a third-tier team in the cup competition, after a 2-1 defeat to Cultural Leonesa.

"Our rivals have played better," Atlético coach Diego Simeone said. "We had some good attacking moves, but overall our rival (Cornellà) always played better. They took advantage of the set piece and got their goal. It was even more uphill after the sending off. Now we have to find solutions."

Atlético is not alone in getting caught off-guard. Third-tier sides also ousted topflight teams Celta Vigo and Getafe on Tuesday. But Atlético has been the biggest victim of the change in format of the Copa del Rey two seasons ago. Before last season, each round was played over two legs, giving bigger clubs chances to come back at home if they slipped up away. Now, all rounds except for the semifinals are played in one leg at the lower-seeded side.

Still, a team like Atlético had no business losing at Cornellà, a club based in a working-class neighbors on the outskirts of Barcelona. Atlético is the front-runner to win the league title. It has only lost once in 15 rounds in the Spanish league and is set to face Chelsea in the Champions League's round of 16 in February.