Barcelona battled out a 2-1 comeback win at Sevilla on Sunday, on goals from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, to stay just two points behind Spanish leaders Real Madrid.
Earlier Sunday, Real trounced minnows Leganes 3-0 – with a brace from Gareth Bale – to keep top spot.
After 11 games, Real have 27 points, Barcelona 25 and Villarreal 22. Then come Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, in joint fourth place, on 21 each.
Real’s win against Leganes obliged Barca to win at Sevilla. However, they fell behind in the 15th minute when Spain winger Vitolo gave Sevilla the lead after good work by Pablo Sarabia.
Barca dominated from then on and messi levelled two minutes before half-time with a clever near-post drive, after being set up by Neymar.
The winning goal came on the hour, when man-of-the-match Messi set up Suarez to make it 2-1 with a cool finish. Barca then wasted excellent chances to kill off the match.
Messi and Suarez are joint top scorers in La Liga, now with nine goals apiece.
“We really had to win today, and I think we deserved to do so,” Barca’s Rafinha said.
“It was a very difficult match because Sevilla are a good team, but I think we fully deserved the three points in the end.”
Earlier in Madrid, Gareth Bale scored twice and Alvaro Morata got the other as leaders Real trounced lowly neighbours Leganes 3-0.
“It was very important for us to win today,” Morata said. “Now we have a small lead at the top, ahead of the other matches…We were not really brilliant today, I think, but we were very effective in the penalty area.”
Meanwhile, Real coach Zinedine Zidane said that his team was not getting the praise it deserved.
“We are taking more criticism than praise, despite winning most of our games. I am really pleased with the team,” he said.
Real made a hesitant start against Leganes, to the chagrin of the Estadio Bernabeu.
However, Bale – who extended his contract until 2022 this week – broke the deadlock in the 38th minute by taking a pass from Isco and scoring from a tight angle with his sweet left foot.
The Wales striker made it 2-0 just before half-time by poking in a loose ball, after the sluggish Leganes defence had failed to clear a free-kick.
Morata completed the rout in the 76th minute with a near-post drive, after taking a pass from Toni Kroos and skipping past two defenders.
The Bernabeu gave a warm reception to playmaker Luka Modric, who came off the subs’ bench with half an hour left, after six weeks out injured.
“It’s just great to be back in action. I am so pleased to be back playing now,” the Croatian veteran said.
Later Sunday, Villarreal moved up to third with a 2-0 home defeat of Real Betis, on goals from Manuel Trigueros and Roberto Soriano.
“This was a very solid display from us. We are conceding very few goals, which is crucial in today’s football,” Villarreal boss Fran Escriva said.
Athletic Bilbao kept seventh place with a 0-0 draw at Espanyol, while Valencia crashed 2-1 at Celta Vigo.
Dani Parejo gave Valencia the lead, only for Facundo Roncaglia and John Guidetti to turn things around with goals for the hosts.
The late win took Celta up to eighth and pulled Valencia down to 15th.
Source: GNA/NewsGhana.com.gh
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