BARCELONA — Barcelona came through a testing local derby at Espanyol, winning 3-0 to cling to its slender lead at the top of La Liga after rival Real Madrid had set the challenge by beating Valencia 2-1 in the earlier kickoff.
Barca triumphed thanks to two clinical finishes from Luis Suarez and a strike from Ivan Rakitic following a vintage slalom run by Lionel Messi.
Suarez pounced on a disastrous backpass from Jose Manuel Jurado to break the deadlock in the 50th minute and Rakitic sealed the win in the 76th by side-footing home Messi’s cutback after the Argentine had torn through the home defense.
Suarez, who had failed to score in his previous five games in all competitions, took advantage of another calamitous error by the otherwise impressive Espanyol backline and rifled in Barca’s third from close range in the 87th minute.
The pressure was on Barca after Real Madrid had beaten Valencia 2-1 earlier in the day to provisionally lead the standings, and the champion got an early fright when Jurado eased into its area but fired wide of the far post.
Espanyol’s good organization then went to waste when Jurado gifted the ball to Suarez, who knocked it past former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez with an effortless flick of the outside of his right boot to send the champion on its way.
Barca tops the standings on 81 points due to its superior head-to-head record over Real, which also has 81 and has a game in hand.
Atletico Madrid warmed up for its Champions League semifinal first leg against Real by hammering Las Palmas 5-0 away with two goals from Kevin Gameiro and strikes from Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey and Fernando Torres.
It was not all plain sailing for Diego Simeone’s side, however, as it lost Jose Gimenez to injury, adding to the absences of fellow defenders Juanfran and Sime Vrsaljko for Tuesday’s short trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Granada’s run of six consecutive seasons in La Liga ended following a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad, leaving Tony Adams’s side 10 points adrift of safety with three games left.
Levante sealed its return to the top flight 11 months after being relegated by beating Real Oviedo 1-0 at home.
Sampdoria draws with Torino
Patrik Schick scored another stunning goal as his Sampdoria side drew 1-1 at Torino Saturday in Serie A.
The 21-year-old Schick fired his side in front in the 12th minute with a magnificent strike into the top right corner from 20 meters, giving Torino goalkeeper Joe Hart no chance and scoring for the third successive match.
Schick was replaced shortly after halftime after injuring his shoulder.
Torino increased the pressure and got a deserved equalizer in the 78th. Sampdoria defender Vasco Regini failed to control Adem Ljajic’s cross and Juan Manuel Iturbe scored his first goal for Torino since joining on loan from Roma in January. — Agencies
