Barcelona moved 11 points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday (Mar 18) after beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at home with a goal from Paco Alcacer and a thumping strike from Lionel Messi in the first half.
Lionel Messi delivered another masterful performance as Barcelona sailed past Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Sunday (Mar 18) to take an 11-point lead over nearest rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga. After putting Chelsea to the sword in the Champions League midweek, Messi scored for the sixth game in a row against Athletic at the Camp Nou to propel Barca closer to the domestic title.
A dominant start from Barca yielded the opening goal after just eight minutes as Messi found Jordi Alba out on the left, his pull back neatly side-footed into the far corner by Paco Alcacer, filling in for the suspended Luis Suarez. The hosts looked a constant threat early on and Philippe Coutinho was denied a second when he rattled the woodwork, while Ousmane Dembele should have done much better with just Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat.
But the Athletic goalkeeper was powerless to keep out a crunching low drive from Messi on the half hour, the Argentine taking a touch to control a pass from Dembele before lashing home. Coutinho, the club’s record signing, struck the woodwork for a second time as he tried to lob Kepa after latching onto a clever lofted pass from Paulinho, who then smacked a curling shot of his own against the upright.
Barca remain unbeaten in La Liga with nine games of the season remaining, although second-placed Atletico can reduce the gap at the top when they visit Villarreal later on Sunday.
Zinedine Zidane’s Real can reclaim third place from Valencia, who were 3-1 winners over Alaves on Saturday.
Earlier, Sevilla crashed to a 2-1 league defeat to Leganes just days after pulling off the surprise elimination of Manchester United in the Champions League. The loss means Sevilla are increasingly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League through La Liga this season.
Unai Bustinza put Leganes ahead four minutes before half-time with a superb header in their Butarque stadium in the Madrid suburbs. Javi Eraso doubled the lead in the 69th minute. Mexican international Miguel Layun pulled a goal back for Sevilla in the 90th minute when he was fed by the scorer of both goals in the triumph at Old Trafford, French striker Wissam Ben Yedder.
Sevilla face a torrid few weeks with leaders Barcelona next up in La Liga on Mar 31 before they host Bayern Munich on Apr 3 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
