Barcelona, Sevilla maintain pressure on Madrid

MADRID, Spain -- Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as Barcelona shrugged off the loss of the injured Sergio Busquets to remain just two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday.

Sevilla separate the giants of Spanish football in second, just a point behind Madrid, after twice coming from behind to edge a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at rock-bottom Osasuna.

However, Real Madrid also have a game in hand over their title rivals.

Barca's visit to the Basque Country was only eight minutes in when Busquets had to be carried off with ankle ligament damage after a dangerous challenge from Gonzalo Escalante that went unpunished.

"The good news about Sergio Busquets is that it doesn't look as serious as we first thought," Barca boss Luis Enrique told Spanish TV station Movistar.

The visitors were briefly unsettled as a fine save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen prevented Adrian Gonzalez giving Eibar a shock lead at the tiny 6,200 capacity Ipurua.

Yet, there was little doubt over the outcome once Denis Suarez, who had replaced Busquets, drilled home his first Barca goal into the far corner from outside the box on the half hour mark.

Neymar missed a one-on-one and Luis Suarez hit the post as Barca squandered a series of chances to kill off the game before half-time.

However, Messi doubled their lead just six minutes into the second-half when he swept home Luis Suarez's cross for his 28th goal in 26 games this season.

And Luis Suarez matched his strike partner as La Liga's top scorer this season with 15 when he robbed Florian Lejeune before slotting home at the near post 22 minutes from time.

Neymar hadn't scored from open play since October, but brought that run to an end by slotting home Aleix Vidal's low cross in stoppage time.

"A positive run of results means everything flows better, the players have more confidence," added Enrique after a fourth straight win.

"But we are still far off where we want to be."

- Record-breaking Sevilla -

Sevilla scored twice in the final five minutes to end Real Madrid's 40-game unbeaten run in all competitions last weekend and have now won five of the seven La Liga games when they have conceded first this season.

"The team did some good things and made mistakes, but from start to finish looked to win the game," said Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli.

"To finish the first half of the season with a record number of points (42) and be second fills us with excitement for what is to come."

Sergio Leon gave Osasuna a shock early lead before an unusual hat-trick from Sevilla captain Vicente Iborra levelled at 2-2 as he twice equalised either side of an own goal to restore Osasuna's lead.

Osasuna were infuriated Franco Vazquez's vital third goal for Sevilla was allowed to stand despite a push on Oriol Riera 10 minutes from time.

Pablo Sarabia's fine left-footed shot from outside the area sealed the points, but there was still time for Osasuna to pull another goal back when Kenan Kodro headed in from close range.

Atletico Madrid lost further ground on the top three as they needed a spectacular Antoine Griezmann equaliser 10 minutes from time to secure a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao.

Diego Simeone's men are now eight points back on Real Madrid.

The visitors got off to the perfect start when Koke's cross towards Griezmann evaded everyone and flew into the far corner after just three minutes.

However, Atletico were punished for trying to sit on their lead when Inigo Lekue smashed home an equaliser three minutes before half-time.

Athletic then went in front as former Atletico favourite Raul Garcia crossed for Oscar de Marcos to head home.

Griezmann had already had one spectacular finish ruled out by the offside flag, but the French international continued his fine form with a rasping low drive from 25 yards to at least salvage a point for Atletico.

Real Sociedad move level on points with Atletico in fourth as Juanmi's towering header 18 minutes from time handed them a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.

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LA LIGA: Morata strikes late to send Real Madrid top of La Liga

BARCELONA - A scrappy late finish by Alvaro Morata earned Real Madrid a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao and allowed them to dislodge Atletico Madrid as La Liga leaders on Sunday after Diego Simeone's men went down 2-1 at Sevilla for their first defeat of the season.

The result proved costly for Atletico as they slipped to fifth in the standings, behind Real, Sevilla, Barcelona and Villarreal, 2-1 winners over Las Palmas thanks to Cedric Bakambu's injury time winner.

Former Juventus striker Morata bundled the ball into the net in the 83rd minute after Real had squandered several chances to retake the lead following Sabin Merino's equaliser for Athletic that cancelled out Karim Benzema's first-half opener.

Benzema knocked the ball through the legs of Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to put Real ahead in the seventh minute after an impressive run and cut-back from Isco.

Athletic hit back later in the half when Javier Eraso pounced on indecisive Real defending to win the ball back in the box, quickly squaring for Merino to ram the ball home.

Inaki Williams skied a great chance to put Athletic ahead at the start of the second half although Real did most of the attacking after the break, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Mateo Kovacic all going close.

The European champions found their winner thanks to the persistence of Morata, who followed up after his shot was repelled by Iraizoz to give Real a third straight win in all competitions.

"We know we can never give up and today we kept our heads and got the three points, always remembering that this is football and you have to suffer," Real coach Zinedine Zidane told a news conference.

"We have to produce thorough performances in every game and play well because there won't be any easy games and we'll have to suffer until the end. That's the message I want to transmit."

Real Madrid lead the table on 21 points, while Sevilla are second on 20 after Steven Nzonzi's second-half strike gave them a 1-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid. Champions Barcelona are on 19 alongside Villarreal, while Atletico are on 18.

Former Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City midfielder Nzonzi skipped past Atletico's backline to latch onto a through ball from Atletico loanee Luciano Vietto to score in the 73rd minute and seal Sevilla's first win over Atletico in over six years.

Atletico and Spain midfielder Koke was dismissed for a second booking in the 77th minute. The visiting side almost snatched a late equaliser but defender Diego Godin's header went straight towards Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

"I'm proud of the team, we had a lot of opportunities and the performance makes me very happy about the path we are on," said Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli.

"Nzonzi is not just here to put the brakes on the opposition but to create chances too as he did today. Vietto is contributing a lot of assists and we saw his contribution with the goal. I'm delighted with them both."

Kevin-Prince Boateng finished a sensational team move with a volley to put Las Palmas ahead in the first half at Villarreal but Italian forward Nicola Sansone levelled from the spot in the 64th, before Bakambu slammed in the winner in the 91st.

Earlier, Celta Vigo beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-1 in a local derby. Captain Hugo Mallo put Celta ahead in the 32nd minute only for Raul Albentosa to reply in the 37th.

Iago Aspas converted a penalty to restore Celta's lead on the hour mark and hit the final goal after standout player Fabian Orellana had struck the third.

Malaga thrashed Leganes 4-0.

(Reporting by Richard Martin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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LA LIGA: Messi scores on return, Atletico, Real stay on top

MADRID, Spain -- Lionel Messi took just three minutes to score on his return from injury as Barcelona thrashed Deportivo la Coruna 4-0 on Saturday, but Barca remain two points adrift of free-scoring Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Yannick Carrasco's hat-trick and Nicolas Gaitan's first two goals for Atletico inspired a storming fightback by Diego Simeone's men to flatten Granada 7-1 after falling behind early on.

Real kept pace with their city rivals with four first-half goals of their own in a 6-1 win at Real Betis to snap a streak of four straight draws.

Barca were already 3-0 up thanks to Luis Suarez and a double from Rafinha when Messi was introduced after nearly a month out with a groin problem and wasted no time in scoring his ninth goal of the season.

"It was a complete performance," said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

"We have Leo back and it took him no time to be back in top form."

Messi wasn't needed to be the match winner as Barca had the three points sewn up before the break.

Rafinha exchanged a one-two with Suarez before drilling a low shot that had too much power for German Lux and then bundled home a second 15 minutes later after Lux had saved Gerard Pique's initial effort.

Suarez moved level with Antoine Griezmann as La Liga's top scorer with six this season when he brilliantly turned away from the Deportivo defence when receiving Neymar's through ball before slotting home the third.

Messi was introduced from the bench just before the hour mark and took just three touches to find the net when he flicked another Neymar assist over the helpless Lux.

Deportivo's day was rounded off by a red card for Laure 25 minutes from time when for elbowing Neymar in the face.

- Real roll -

Real had dropped down to fourth due to results earlier in the day, but roared back to a share of the lead and put a poor run behind them with their best display of the season to blow Betis away.

Raphael Varane headed home Toni Kroos's free-kick before the German also teed up Karim Benzema to double the visitors' advantage.

Marcelo's mishit effort found the far corner for Real's third, but there was no such luck needed for a stunning fourth as Madrid marched from one end of the field to the other in seconds before Isco rounded off a stunning team move.

Betis improved at the start of the second period and got their reward through Alvaro Cejudo's consolation.

However, Madrid's quality shone through once more when Isco curled expertly into the top corner before Cristiano Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet 12 minutes from time.

Real still trail Atletico on goal difference as Los Rojiblancos went one better in smashing seven past Granada.

"The response from the team was tremendous," Atletico boss Simeone told BeIN Sports Spain.

The Vicente Calderon was briefly stunned by Isaac Cuenca's sensational volley from outside the area to open the scoring.

Carrasco turned the game around before half-time thanks in part to some poor goalkeeping from Guillermo Ochoa.

However, the Mexican was faultless as Carrasco completed his hat-trick with a thumping finish from Griezmann's fine cut-back on the hour mark.

"I'm very happy to score three goals, it is the first hat-trick of my career," added Carrasco.

"I already have many happy memories here at Atletico and hopefully I have many more to come."

Gaitan had only been on the pitch a minute before he added a fourth and then fired in his second nine minutes from time at Ochoa's near post.

And Carrasco teed up two more for Angel Correa and Tiago in the final five minutes as Atletico made light of a dependence on Griezmann for goals so far this season.

Sevilla are just a point behind in third after ending a 17-month wait for an away league win in a 3-2 triumph at Leganes.

Franco Vazquez and Samir Nasri put Jorge Sampaoli's men well on course to end that barren run before David Timor and Alexander Szymanowski brought Leganes level.

However, Pablo Sarabia proved the match winner off the bench when he curled a stunning winner into the top corner five minutes from time.

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LA LIGA: Suarez makes history as Barca, Real, Atletico win

BARCELONA - Luis Suarez became the first La Liga player to score four goals for the second game in a row as Barcelona, helped by three penalties in the second half, stayed top by hammering Sporting Gijon 6-0 on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Gareth Bale made up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring twice as Real Madrid came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano while Atletico Madrid kept up their title hopes with a 1-0 home victory over Malaga.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone could be facing a three-game touchline ban after being sent off at halftime when a ball was thrown on to the pitch from the technical area.

Suarez moved ahead of Ronaldo as the league's top scorer on 34 goals after netting four times, twice with penalties, in the space of 25 second-half minutes.

Sporting had defender Ognjen Vranjes sent off in the 85th minute after picking up a second booking for fouling Neymar who scored the subsequent spot kick

The league leaders and Atletico have 82 points, with Barca top because of a superior head-to-head record. Real are third on 81 points with three games remaining.

Lionel Messi's stooping header put Barca ahead on 12 minutes but Gijon, who are third from bottom, missed two chances to equalise before halftime.

Suarez eased Barca nerves by tapping home Andres Iniesta's low cross in the 63rd minute before converting twice from the spot.

The prolific Uruguayan, who also scored four times and provided three assists in Wednesday's 8-0 thrashing of Deportivolass="highlight"> La Coruna, grabbed another goal in the 88th minute, drilling in a pass from Messi.

NEGATIVE RUN

Barca have now scored 14 goals in their last two league games after picking up just one point from their previous four matches.

"It was vital we won and doing it by scoring lots of goals helps lift our confidence," said coach Luis Enrique. "We have turned round a very negative run that nobody expected."

Ronaldo missed his first league game of the season due to a muscle strain and Real suffered another blow ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City in midweek when Karim Benzema was injured against Rayo.

Real were 2-0 down inside 14 minutes after Adrian Embarba scored from close range and Venezuelan striker Miku pounced on more poor defending from the visitors.

Bale started the revival, heading in a 35th-minute corner before Zinedine Zidane's side drew level six minutes after the break through substitute Lucas Vazquez.

Welshman Bale netted again nine minutes from time, collecting a misplaced pass from a Rayo defender before powering the ball past goalkeeper Juan Carlos.

"I'm very happy with him and he's very happy at being able to make the difference," Real coach Zidane told a news conference. "He's a spectacular footballer and he demonstrated that today."

Rayo took a surprise early lead when Embarba converted former Manchester United player Bebe's low cross from six metres, and a weak header from Raphael Varane allowed Miku to make it 2-0.

Bale's header lifted Real and they drew level through substitute Vazquez who had replaced Benzema.

The Wales forward had the final say, intercepting the ball and racing into the box down the left to strike the winner.

Substitute Angel Correa settled a difficult game for Atletico against Malaga soon after coming off the bench, as his shot from the edge of the area was deflected into the far corner in the 62nd minute.

Simeone said a ball boy lobbed the ball on to the pitch, leading to the coach being forced to watch the second half from the stands.

"It was the boy who was beside us but it doesn't change anything," said the coach. "It's clear the referee took the correct decision as stated by the rules."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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