WATCH - Luis Suarez and Neymar struck by a bottle as Lionel Messi's late Barcelona penalty sinks Valencia

Messi cooly converted from the spot after Valencia defender Aymen Abdennour brought down Luis Suarez deep into injury time.

Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves had saved 17 of this last 35 penalty kicks before this game.

But Messi held his nerve to score his fifth goal in two games, sparking a furious reaction from Valencia fans as the Barcelona players celebrated in front of the Mestalla faithful.

Neymar and Luis Suarez both appeared to be struck by a water bottle that was aimed at the huddle of Barcelona players.

The match had earlier been marred by a nasty-looking knee injury to Barcelona captain, Andres Iniesta.

The Spanish World Cup winner is now expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks following a clumsy challenge from Valencia's Enzo Perez.

Iniesta was stretched from the pitch in tears following a challenge that left Luis Enrique irate.

"It was a game where a huge amount happened," said Enrique after the end of the match.

"The worst thing was the injury to Andres in an incident that everyone on the bench could see very clearly."

"It's a clear incident in which we saw the player get injured, and there was no yellow card. Tomorrow we'll see the severity of the injury but, yes, it'll be weeks. It's a serious one."

Barcelona's victory lifts them to the top of the La Liga table, one point ahead of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, although Luis Enrique's side have played one game more than their rivals.