Suarez Scores Four As Barcelona Return To The Top

Luis Suarez scored his second consecutive four-goal haul as Barcelona returned to the top of La Liga with victory over Sporting Gijon.

Victories for Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid earlier on Saturday had left Barca third by kick-off.

Lionel Messi’s looping header into an empty net gave Barca the lead.

Suarez made it 2-0 before Barca won three late penalties, the Uruguayan scoring two and Neymar the other, and Suarez converted Messi’s pass late on.

Sporting had Ognjen Vranjes harshly sent off for conceding the third penalty for a foul on Neymar.

Striker Suarez also scored four in Wednesday’s 8-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

Barca over their crisis?

At the start of April, Barcelona were nine points clear at the top of La Liga – and unbeaten in 39 games.

But losing to Real in El Clasico sparked a disastrous run of one win in six games, allowing the Madrid clubs to close the gap, while Atletico knocked them out of the Champions League.

However, 14 unanswered La Liga goals in four days have taken them to within three wins of successfully defending their title.

They are level on points with Atletico and one point above Real, with their head-to-head record meaning they will edge out either Madrid side if they finish the league equal on points.

Unstoppable Suarez?

Pichichi

Luis Suarez took control of the race for the Pichichi – the Spanish golden boot – with his second quadruple of the week.

He now leads Real’s currently injured star Cristiano Ronaldo 34-31 with three games left.

Suarez’s fellow Uruguayan Diego Forlan is the last player other than Ronaldo or Messi to win the award – back in 2008-09.

The former Liverpool striker had a hand in the opener, putting keeper Ivan Cuellar under pressure before the ball came to Messi, who headed a looping effort into the empty net from 18 yards.

Barca’s second did not come until the 63rd minute when Suarez converted Andres Iniesta’s pass – possibly from an offside position.

Suarez scored their first penalty after Roberto Canella handled Dani Alves’ cross. His hat-trick goal came from the spot after Antonio Sanabria shoved over Neymar.

Barcelona got a third penalty when Vranjes was deemed to have pushed Neymar, and was sent off for a second booking.

Out-of-form Neymar this time took the penalty, and scored down the centre, with keeper Cuellar almost keeping it out.

But Suarez still had time for his fourth when he fired home Messi’s pass via the post.

BBC

Suarez Scores Four As Barcelona Return To The Top

Barca Appologizes For Coach’s Comment

Barcelona have finally apologized to a journalist who was unfairly snubbed by coach Luis Enrique at a press conference.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was visibly upset last Sunday when his side went down 2-1 to Valencia in La Liga.

Following the defeat, the Catalan giants found themselves level with Atletico Madrid and one point ahead of their rivals Real Madrid.

The result blew the title race wide open, something that angered Enrique, judging from his mood at a post-match press conference.

During the press briefing the 45-year-old boss was asked by a journalist named Victor Malo about the fitness of the team.

Here is how the conversation went down after the question from the sports journalist:

Luis Enrique: ”What was your surname?”

Journalist: ”Malo’’.

Luis Enrique: ”Correct, next question.’’

It should be noted that ‘’Malo’’ in Spanish means ‘’bad’’ and Enrique’s comments were probably meant to inform the journalist how bad his question was, or how bad he was at his job.

The assumptions aside, Barca reportedly sent an apology to the journalist’s employers, according to Sport.

Confirming the incident, Malo revealed:

“Nobody from the club has called me to apologise directly, but they called the newspaper to do so.”

The Spanish tactician’s temper was quite understood given the fact that Los Blaugrana blew away their 7-point lead at the top of the table in a matter of weeks, and are now cornered by two Madrid giants.

The Camp Nou outfit have now gone three matches without a win in the league, their worst record since 2011

Barca Appologizes For Coach’s Comment