Football
ESPN staff 7y

Barcelona's Lionel Messi bloodied vs. Real Madrid; Gareth Bale limps off

Lionel Messi required medical attention in Sunday's 3-2 Clasico win when a first-half clash with Marcelo left the Barcelona superstar bloodied.

Messi and Marcelo jostled for a ball in the 20th minute and the Brazilian left-back's raised elbow caught the No. 10 in the face.

Argentina international Messi stayed down with blood streaming from his mouth.

He was then taken to the touchline where he received attention from members of the Barca medical staff, returning to the match moments later with gauze in his mouth.

Messi was seen sporting a black eye and missing teeth after the match, according to Press Association.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner then scored in the 33rd minute with a fine solo goal to even the score at 1-1, and later scored a superb winner in the second minute of stoppage time to send Barca to victory.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale was forced to limp out of the match with what appeared to be a calf injury in the 39th minute.

The Wales international sat on the ground, holding his lower leg before being taken off for Marco Asensio.

Bale had suffered a calf problem in Real's Champions League win at Bayern Munich earlier this month and did not feature in either the Liga win at Sporting Gijon or the second leg against Bayern.

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