Leganes beats Barcelona, despite laser goal from Coutinho

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Leganes edged Barcelona 2-1 in La Liga on Wednesday at Estadio Municipal de Butarque in Leganes Spain.

The result came despite a sensational score from Philippe Coutinho, which put Barcelona up 1-0 in the 12th minute. Nabil El Zhar and Oscar Rodriguez Arnaiz added scores in the second half for the upset victory.

Coutinho got his goal off of a Lionel Messi assist. Messi ripped a feed in front of the box to the Brazilian. Coutinho stopped the ball and flicked it straight up. He used his right boot to rip a volley into the far post netting, beating Leganes goalie Ivan Cuellar.

Barcelona held the advantage through the half before the home squad came roaring back.

The rally began seven minutes after the second half whistle.

El Zhar's score came first. Jonathan Silva dribbled down the right flank before sending a cross through the Barcelona Box. El Zhar headed the feed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the equalizer.

Leganes capitalized on a mistake from defender Gerard Pique in the next minute. Pique was attempting to clear the ball on the play, but sent the clearance directly to the boot of Rodriguez Arnaiz. The midfielder blasted a one-touch shot past ter Stegen for the go-ahead score.

"It's not a result that can be explained," Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde told reporters. "We need to expect that things like this can happen and we have to be ready to turn things around when they get difficult."

Barcelona battles Athletic Bilbao at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday at Camp Nou in Barcelona.