The Argentine had looked the most likely to get on the scoresheet for Barca for most of the game, before eventually doing just that late in the match.
The goal moves Messi on to 14 league goals for the season, five clear of Villarreal's Cedric Bakambu, who currently occupies second place in the rankings along with Simone Zaza of Valencia.
After Jaume Costa had presented the bal to Sergio Busquets with 84 minutes on the clock, the anchor man quickly fed Messi, who skipped away from two defenders to power past Sergio Asenjo in the home goal to add some gloss to the scoreline.
Check out the goal for yourself below:
Cuando intentas salir jugando ante FC Barcelona: Lionel Messi capitaliza ante el fallo de Villareal. 0-2, y el Barça sigue gobernando en España. pic.twitter.com/CLRLUyibR3
— Enzo Anchante Zavala (@NzoAnchante) 10 December 2017