Sevilla up to second, Atletico claim much-needed win

MADRID, Spain -- A stunning four-goal blitz in 10 minutes allowed Sevilla to leapfrog Barcelona into second in La Liga on Saturday as Luciano Vietto scored twice in a 4-1 win over Malaga.

Atletico Madrid registered a first win in four games as Saul Niguez's excellent 25-yard strike earned a nervy 1-0 victory against Las Palmas.

However, Atletico end the year in sixth after wins for Villarreal and Real Sociedad at Sporting Gijon and Granada respectively maintained their one-point lead over Diego Simeone's men.

Sevilla edge a point ahead of Barca and to within five of league leaders Real Madrid, who are not in league action this weekend as they face Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday.

Barca, though, can reclaim second when they host Espanyol in Sunday's Catalan derby (1945GMT).

Sevilla killed Malaga off with a series of brilliant first-half team moves as Vietto slotted home Steven N'Zonzi's through ball for the opener before being left with the simplest of tasks to double the lead three minutes later from Vitolo's determined run and cross.

The goals continued to flow as Wissam Ben Yedder added a third before Vitolo made it four before half-time.

Sevilla defender Adil Rami got himself needlessly sent-off for two quickfire bookings just after the hour mark and Sandro Ramirez netted a consolation for Malaga with a fine free-kick.

- Atletico net much-needed win -

Earlier, Atletico ended what coach Diego Simeone called an "extraordinary year" after reaching the Champions League final in May on a high thanks to Niguez's solitary strike.

"Taking into account where we have come from, we have ended an extraordinary year," said Simeone.

"I think any fan of Atletico Madrid has to be proud of a fantastic year and we finished it off with a very solid performance."

Niguez also had the best effort of a bright start from the hosts as he volleyed off the inside of the post on 15 minutes.

Atletico's struggles have coincided with Antoine Griezmann's loss of form as the Frenchman, who finished third in the running for the Ballon d'Or this week, was held scoreless for a ninth consecutive league game.

Las Palmas dominated possession throughout with their neat short-passing but the closest they came to breaking the deadlock before half-time was an outrageous hit from fully 40 yards by centre-back Mauricio Lemos that came back off the crossbar.

The game swung in two moments at either end just two minutes apart at the start of the second-half.

Firstly, Atletico 'keeper Miguel Angel Moya made a vital save from Roque Mesa on his first La Liga start of the season in the absence of the injured Jan Oblak.

Niguez then pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the Las Palmas area to curl home his first league goal of the season.

Villarreal, fresh from beating Atletico 2-0 on Monday, remain a point ahead of last season's Champions League finalists in fourth as goals from Jonathan dos Santos, Nicola Sansone and Alexandre Pato secured a deserved three points in Gijon.

Real Sociedad are just behind Villarreal on goal difference as second-half goals from Jon Bautista and Juanmi sealed a 2-0 victory away to Granada.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

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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