Football: Barca thrash Sociedad, Atletico edge past Alaves

MADRID, Spain -- Lionel Messi scored twice on Sunday as Barcelona trounced Real Sociedad 6-1 to keep the pressure on Atletico Madrid, who squeezed past Alaves thanks to a late penalty save from Jan Oblak.

Oblak's 86th-minute heroics ensured Luis Suarez's 500th career goal was enough for a 1-0 victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, meaning the gap at the top of La Liga remains at four points, with 10 games left to play.

But the contrast between Atletico's nervy win against 19th-placed Alaves and Barca's demolition of a Real Sociedad side with hopes of qualifying for Europe spoke volumes about where the momentum lies in the Spanish title race.

Atletico will hope Oblak's save can prove to be a turning point after a challenging few weeks, while the international break might offer Diego Simeone's side a chance to reset and refresh ahead of the run-in. 

"There are games where you suffer but that's what makes football beautiful," said Oblak.

Simeone said: "Like all great teams, there is always one that scores a lot of goals and one that makes a lot of saves. They are both decisive players who make the team stronger."

Barcelona have hit their stride, their six goals against Real Sociedad no less than they deserved for a scintillating attacking display, and perhaps their best since Ronald Koeman took charge.

"The team has improved a lot recently," said Koeman. "We've gone a lot of games without losing in the league, which was the only way to get back in the fight for th title.

"But we're still behind Atleti, Real Madrid are stronger. We have to keep going to the end."

- Messi breaks appearance record -

Messi scored his 11th and 12 goals in his last 10 games, and made it 16 in 12 this year. The 33-year-old has also now passed Xavi Hernandez's record of 767 Barcelona appearances, which he had equalled against Huesca on Monday.

Messi did not plough a lone furrow at the Reale Arena, where Sergino Dest scored twice either side of half-time after Antoine Griezmann slammed in the opener.

Ousmane Dembele and Real Sociedad's Ander Barrenetxea -- with arguably the goal of the night -- both registered between Messi's double in the second half.

For Barcelona, it is a ninth consecutive away win in the league, with a club record 10th within their grasp if they beat Real Madrid in the Clasico on April 10.

Real Sociedad next play Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in the postponed Copa del Rey final from last year on April 3.

Dest had already hit the crossbar when Messi set Jordi Alba free down the left and while Dembele's finish was saved, Griezmann was on hand to convert the rebound.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to rectify his own poor clearance by getting down low to deny Alexander Isak but Real Sociedad's resistance was brief.

Messi slipped in Dest to fire in and then Alba pulled back from the other side for the American to make it three.

Messi snuck in behind early in the second half, poking in Sergio Busquets' ball over the top before Dembele was allowed to glide through unchallenged, and impressively drove into the far corner.

Barrenetxea put his side on the scoreboard, and brilliantly, by nipping inside Frenkie de Jong and thundering a shot into the top corner but Messi had the last word, a crisp finish curling inside the near post.

- Suarez strikes -

Messi stays ahead of Suarez in the La Liga scoring charts, despite the Uruguayan's excellent finish nine minutes into the second half against Alaves.

Thomas Lemar turned the ball around the corner to Marcos Llorente, who fed Kieran Trippier racing down the right, and he curled a cross in on the run to the near post, where Suarez headed in.

But without a second goal, Alaves always had a chance and they were given a golden one after Stefan Savic was judged to have put an arm across Luis Rioja just inside the penalty area.

Joselu stepped up and struck it well to his left but Oblak read it right and, with his left foot still pinned to the line, sprung out and pushed the ball away.

Agence France-Presse

LA LIGA: Bale strikes in vital Madrid win at Sociedad

MADRID, Spain -- Gareth Bale responded in style to his critics with a fine finish as Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Borja Mayoral rewarded a bright start by Real with his first Madrid goal before Sociedad's Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends to give the visitors a 2-1 half-time lead.

And Bale secured the three points as he sped past Rodrigues and dinked the ball over Geronimo Rulli for just his second goal of the season on the hour mark.

Victory moves the European champions up to fourth and within four points of leaders Barcelona.

Bale had received stinging criticism from the Spanish press and Madrid fans for his underwhelming displays in Ronaldo's absence in recent weeks as Real dropped points at home to Valencia and Levante.

"It's great to always score, but the most important thing was to get the three points for the team, get back on track and get back to winning ways," Bale told Spanish TV station Movistar.

"I just have to try to keep my head down and keep working hard and that's all I can do.

"I can't control what goes on, I can only control how hard I work on the pitch.

"You go through ups and downs in your career -- it is how you bounce back."

Without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, as he completed a five-game ban, and injured Karim Benzema, Zinedine Zidane handed 20-year-old Mayoral a shock start up front.

And the Frenchman's faith was rewarded inside 20 minutes when Mayoral swept home a loose ball with a classy finish from close range.

Mayoral's strike meant Madrid have now matched a world record of scoring in 73 consecutive games set by Pele's Santos in the 1960s.

- Crazy 60 seconds -

However, the visitors' joy lasted just nine minutes as Rodrigues levelled thanks to a blunder from Keylor Navas.

Rodrigues fired Alvaro Odriozola's cross towards goal on the volley, but the Real 'keeper should have made a comfortable stop rather than letting the ball slip under his grasp.

The match was then held up as a cameraman had to be stretchered off with his leg heavily strapped as he was injured from fans surging forward from a temporary stand behind the goal Sociedad were defending.

Once the game got back underway, a crazy 60 seconds for Rodrigues swung the match back in Madrid's favour.

The left-back was inches away from bagging a second when his looping effort came back off the bar.

However, Real broke straight up the other end and the unfortunate Rodrigues turned Mayoral's cross into his own net.

Bale sealed the points after the break by scoring for the fifth straight match at Anoeta as his pace took him beyond the Sociedad defence before coolly chipping over the advancing Rulli.

Earlier, Alaves sacked Argentine coach Luis Zubeldia after just four games in charge as they slipped to the bottom of La Liga with a 3-0 defeat at home to Villarreal.

Zubeldia failed to muster a point or even a solitary goal in his brief stint in charge with defeats to Leganes, Barcelona and Celta Vigo also sealing his fate.

By contrast, Sevilla's impressive start to the season continued with victory on the road at Girona to move up to second.

Luis Muriel's first goal for the club since completing a 20 million euro ($24 million) move from Sampdoria was enough for a 1-0 win.

And former Chelsea striker Loic Remy also bagged his first goal for Las Palmas to secure a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.

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LA LIGA: Barca fail to break Sociedad hoodoo, Atletico bounce back

MADRID, Spain -- Barcelona's winless streak at Real Sociedad stretched to eight games as the Spanish champions were outplayed in a 1-1 draw on Sunday that leaves them six points adrift of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

A sumptuous finish from Lionel Messi spared Barca's blushes after Willian Jose had headed Sociedad into a deserved lead just after half-time.

And Barca were fortunate to escape without a fifth consecutive league defeat in San Sebastian as Carlos Vela hit the woodwork twice and Juanmi's header was wrongly ruled out for offside.

"It is almost a miracle that we took a point," Barca boss Luis Enrique told BeIN Sports Spain.

"Real Sociedad were infinitely better than us with and without the ball. They won all the battles."

A point is enough to move Barca up to second, but they now desperately need to beat Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Earlier, Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways and moved back into the top four as goals from Diego Godin, Kevin Gameiro and Yannick Carrasco ensured a comfortable 3-0 win at Osasuna.

Barcelona still haven't won in San Sebastian since 2007, but were grateful for the point as Sociedad failed to cash in on their superiority.

"Playing like this it will be very difficult to win the league," added Barca defender Gerard Pique.

Xabi Prieto headed a guilt-edged chance wide, whilst Vela also fired off target when well-placed inside the area before the break.

The visitors' first effort on target came on 50 minutes when Geronimo Rulli turned behind Neymar's free-kick.

However, Sociedad went in front three minutes later when Pique, who played on in the second-half with a severely strapped ankle, could only slash Jose's effort into his own net after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had blocked Vela's initial effort.

Neymar started up front for Barca despite suffering a minor car accident in his Ferrari on Sunday morning.

And the Brazilian finally kickstarted a lame Barca display six minutes later as he burst down the left and crossed for Messi to apply a characteristically clinical finish for his 19th goal in 16 games this season.

Sociedad were cruelly denied 14 minutes from time when a wonderful hit by Vela came back off the underside of the bar and substitute Juanmi's finish from the rebound was wrongly ruled out for offside.

Asier Illarramendi then cleared off the line from Denis Suarez at the other end before Vela struck the woodwork again with a low effort that clipped the post in a frantic finale.

- Atletico respond -

Atletico had suffered back-to-back La Liga defeats for the first time in four years at the hands of Sociedad and Real Madrid in recent weeks.

However, they never looked in danger after Jan Oblak had saved Roberto Torres's penalty with the scores still level at 0-0.

Godin nodded home Koke's corner nine minutes before half-time and almost straight from kick-off Angel Correa released Gameiro to double Atletico's lead.

Substitute Carrasco rounded off the scoring with his eighth goal of the season in stoppage time.

"It was a very important game for us for the way in which we ended up playing," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

Atletico leapfrog Villarreal, who earlier lost 2-0 at home to Alaves, into fourth and move back to within nine points of Real Madrid.

"Oblak was decisive with the penalty save and after Godin's goal we felt more comfortable," added Simeone.

"In the second half we were a lot more organised and had more of a collective effort which allowed us to kill off the game."

Granada remain winless and rooted to the bottom after a 3-1 defeat at Celta Vigo.

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LA LIGA: Bale helps Real to winning start, Atletico held

BARCELONA - Gareth Bale scored a double in a commanding 3-0 win for Real Madrid in their La Liga opener at Real Sociedad on Sunday, building on his stunning displays for Wales at Euro 2016.

Bale opened the scoring with a powerful header in the second minute and rounded off the win four minutes into added time with a simple finish after new arrival Marco Asensio had scored his first league goal for Real in the 40th with a sumptuous lob.

Elsewhere, title rivals Atletico Madrid were denied a win with virtually the last kick of the game and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to promoted Alaves.

The game looked to be heading for a goalless draw until the home side were awarded a penalty in injury time for a handball, allowing Kevin Gameiro to mark his Atletico debut by converting from the spot in the 93rd minute.

Diego Simeone's side were dealt a nasty late surprise though when Manu Garcia let fly from outside the area to salvage a point for the Basque side, the 2001 UEFA Cup runners-up who were playing their first top flight game in 13 years.

Earlier on Sunday, Sporting Gijon beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 thanks to quick fire goals from Duje Cop and Victor Rodriguez at the start of the second half, with Borja Viguera scoring late for the visitors.

RACIST CHANTS

Midway through the first half referee Carlos Clos Gomez halted the game for a minute after Athletic striker Inaki Williams, a Spain under-21 international born in Spain to a Ghanaian father and Liberian mother, was subjected to racist chanting from the home supporters.

Real are third in the table with three points, behind Barcelona and Sevilla on goal difference, while Atletico are seventh.

After title rivals Barcelona had laid down a marker with a ruthless 6-2 win at home to Real Betis on Saturday, the pressure was on Real to make a strong start.

They were without first choice forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, so Bale was accompanied by Alvaro Morata and Asensio instead.

The Wales international had nodded in the only goal in this fixture last season late in the second half but needed little more than 60 seconds to strike this time, meeting Dani Carvajal's whipped cross from the right to power the ball into the top near corner.

"It's important to get off to a winning start especially at a ground as difficult as this one. This was the best way to start the season," Zidane told reporters.

"Every player put in a huge effort and we attacked and defended together. If we fight for every ball we can achieve big things."

Real's second goal came in the 40th minute via Raphael Varane's scooped pass from defence up to Asensio, the youngster controlling with one touch before producing a delightful chip over Geronimo Rulli.

Bale completed the win when he latched on to James Rodriguez's through ball to race clear and calmly take it round Rulli to score again.

(Editing by Alison Williams/Rex Gowar)

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LA LIGA: Title rivals Barca, Atletico and Real all win

BARCELONA - La Liga leaders Barcelona moved closer to retaining their crown with a lacklustre 2-0 away win over 10-man Real Betis thanks to goals from Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid kept pace as substitute Antoine Griezmann fired them to a 1-0 home win over struggling Rayo Vallecano, while Real Madrid's Gareth Bale scored in a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad that leaves them still a point behind.

Barcelona remain at the summit on 85 points, level with Atletico but having a superior head-to-head record, while Real are third with 84 points and two games of the season left.

Betis had centre-back Heiko Westermann sent off in the 35th minute for a second booking and Ivan Rakitic pounced on a defensive mishap to put Barca five minutes after the break.

Luis Suarez then scored his 35th goal of the La Liga season to finish Betis off in the 81st, meaning Barca can guarantee a 24th league title with wins at home to Espanyol and away to Granada.

Barcelona struggled to break down Betis even after Westermann was dismissed but a misunderstanding between defender German Pezzella and goalkeeper Antonio Adan allowed Rakitic to tap in from close range and break the deadlock.

Suarez then made up for missing a clear chance earlier in the second half by finishing off Lionel Messi's low pass from inside the area.

Barca manager Luis Enrique reacted angrily to suggestions his team had underperformed against Betis.

"What's the problem, if you don't win 8-0 does it not count?" he told a news conference."

"This is a very competitive league with three teams fighting for the title. Looking at the results I don't think any of the three teams are going to slip up and it's in our own hands."

BALE DELIVERS

Bale, who scored twice as Madrid came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano last weekend, again delivered when it mattered, nodding in Lucas Vazquez's cross in the 80th minute.

It was the Welshman's ninth headed goal in the league this season, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, and earned Madrid the points despite a frustrating afternoon against the side who beat Barcelona earlier this month.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema injured, it was again up to Bale to lead the line, with coach Zinedine Zidane making five changes after the 0-0 at Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final in midweek.

Bale missed several chances before finally breaking the deadlock with 10 minutes remaining, leaping at the near post to glance Vazquez's cross into the top corner for his 19th goal of the league campaign.

With top scorers Ronaldo and Benzema facing a race against time to be fit for Wednesday's second leg against City, Zidane was pleased Bale delivered again.

"It was great to see a player of his importance score a goal ahead of Wednesday," Zidane told a news conference.

"We had to suffer and that's what the players did. We were up against a difficult opponent but I'm happy with the work we did and to pick up the points."

SEVEN CHANGES

Atletico coach Diego Simeone made seven changes to the team that beat Bayern Munich 1-0 on Wednesday to edge closer to the Champions League final, with only keeper Jan Oblak, Jose Gimenez, Gabi and Juanfran keeping their places.

Simeone was serving the first of a three-game touchline ban and watched his side struggle to break down Rayo.

The hosts created only one clear chance before the break, a low shot from Angel Correa that was superbly tipped away by Rayo goalkeeper Juan Carlos.

Atletico's top scorer Griezmann was brought on along with Fernando Torres in the 54th minute and needed less than 60 seconds to have an impact.

The France striker pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the area and, with his next touch, smashed it high into the net past Juan Carlos, his first goal in five games in all competitions.

Torres squandered a chance to seal the win and Rayo nearly punished Atletico, who were relieved to see striker Javi Guerra head over the bar after appearing unmarked in the box.

(Writing by Richard Martin, editing by Ken Ferris and Ian Chadband)

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LA LIGA: Barca lose again at Sociedad, record for Ronaldo

BARCELONA - Leaders Barcelona's Anoeta Stadium jinx struck again when they lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, their second successive defeat in La Liga.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar while Fernando Torres was on target once more as Atletico Madrid triumphed 3-1 at Espanyol.

Winger Mikel Oiarzabal headed the only goal for Sociedad in the fifth minute.

"The game began in the worst way possible," said Barca coach Luis Enrique. "We played really badly in the first half.

"We didn't deserve to lose but we are still the leaders. Now we have to pick ourselves up after leaving this great stadium where we never do well."

Barca, without top scorer Luis Suarez through suspension, fielded a much-changed side and managed just five shots on target all game.

Luis Enrique's team have 76 points with six games to go, one ahead of Atletico and four in front of Real Madrid.

After going unbeaten in all competition for six months, Barca have followed last week's 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid with another slip-up.

The European champions are without a victory in three league outings, their longest stretch since Luis Enrique took charge in 2014.

The coach made four changes to the team that lost to Real Madrid, bringing back midfielder Rafinha after a six-month injury absence and starting without Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba and Ivan Rakitic.

Barca were handed their fifth defeat in six visits to Sociedad after 18-year-old Oiarzabal nodded in a cross from Xabi Prieto.

The visitors struggled to get back in the game and home goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli did well to save from Lionel Messi twice, substitute Iniesta and Arda Turan.

Ronaldo netted for Real Madrid in the 19th minute and also provided passes for Lucas Vazquez and Jese to score as the hosts stormed into a 4-0 halftime lead against Eibar.

James Rodriguez had opened Real's account with a curling free kick in the fifth minute.

EIGHT CHANGES

Coach Zinedine Zidane made eight changes to the team that suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League in midweek with only Ronaldo, Pepe and Casemiro keeping their places.

Brazilian right back Danilo was booed by the home fans for his disappointing display at Wolfsburg when he came on in the second half but it was an otherwise positive afternoon for Real who host Wolfsburg in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday.

Rodriguez was criticised for being caught laughing on the sidelines in Germany in midweek but the Colombia international lifted the crowd by scoring early on, his first goal in just under two months.

A fine piece of skill from Ronaldo allowed Vazquez to pass the ball into an empty net in the 18th minute before the record-breaker finished off a cut-back from the lively Jese a minute later.

Ronaldo returned the favour for the 23-year-old in the 39th minute as Real made it 4-0.

Eibar's top scorer Borja Baston hit the crossbar in a rare attack for the visitors who are 10th in the table.

Torres bounced back from his sending-off in the midweek Champions League defeat to Barca by scoring his third goal in as many games, cancelling out Papa Diop's opener in the 29th minute for Espanyol.

France international Antoine Griezmann grabbed his 20th league goal of the season to put the visitors ahead on 58 minutes and midfielder Koke sealed the points for Diego Simeone's side with a close-range finish in the 89th.

Simeone made one change from the team that lost 2-1 at the Nou Camp, replacing Saul Niguez with Augusto Fernandez.

Torres hit the bar early on but Senegal midfielder Diop headed Espanyol in front from a corner.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker equalised by converting a pass from Koke.

Torres was then also involved in the other goals by Griezmann and Koke.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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FOOTBALL: Messi hat-trick helps Barca to record 35-match unbeaten run

Barcelona set a Spanish record of 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions with a thumping 5-1 win at nine-man Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Thursday after goal-machine Lionel Messi scored his 35th hat-trick.

Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring, Messi caught up with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo on 35 trebles in all competitions and Arda Turan completed the rout, with Turkey's captain scoring his first goal for the club since joining from Atletico Madrid.

Barca's victory, which saw them beat the undefeated record Real Madrid had held since the 1988/89 season, restored an eight-point lead at the top over Atletico with 11 matches to go.

Atletico beat visiting Real Sociedad 3-0 on Tuesday, while third-placed Real Madrid are again 12 points off the pace after a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.

Barca were helped by the fact that Rayo lost defender Diego Llorente to a red card three minutes before halftime for a foul on Rakitic before Manuel Iturra was also sent off in the 67th for bringing down Sergio Busquets in the area.

Busquets was felled from behind going for the rebound after a Messi free kick came back off the bar but Luis Suarez's penalty was saved by Juan Carlos, Barcelona's ninth miss from 18 penalties in all competitions this season.

Liverpool owners admit to underrating gravity of rebuild
The former general counsel for Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Edward Weiss, revealed they had 'underestimated' how poor the squad actually was and were 'overconfident' about rebuilding the club they purchased in 2010.

The admissions came during a Supreme Court hearing in New York this week relating to a long-running legal dispute with Mill Financial, an American company, suing the club's former co-owner George Gillett Jr and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

"You know, I think we underestimated how poor the playing quality of the (Liverpool) squad was, and frankly, we underestimated how difficult it was going to be to stabilise the asset," Weiss said.

"We were overconfident in assuming that many of the things that we had done in Boston at Fenway (with the baseball franchise Boston Red Sox) would translate naturally to the Premier League, and they just didn't all translate."

At the time of the take over, the Liverpool squad included club icons Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher but Weiss suggested they inherited a team with a few players past the peak of their careers.

"What we came to know was that the playing squad was poor. While we had a few top players like Steven Gerrard, other players like Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina were probably beyond their prime," Weiss said.

Since FSG took over the club, Liverpool won the League Cup in 2012 but only finished in the top four of the Premier League once, when they came second in 2014. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)

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