Luis Suárez Scores Four Goals to Help Barcelona Maintain Its Edge
Luis Suárez continued his scoring splurge with four goals on Saturday to help Barcelona stay atop the Spanish league, while Real Madrid needed a stellar performance from Gareth Bale to remain in the title hunt.
Suárez scored his eighth goal in two games to fuel a 6-0 rout of Sporting Gijón, following another four-goal outing in an 8-0 destruction of Deportivo La Coruña on Wednesday.
While Bale managed only two goals, they were critical in a 3-2 fight-back at Rayo Vallecano in a match Madrid entered without Cristiano Ronaldo and finished without Karim Benzema because of leg injuries.
Barcelona stayed level on points with Atlético Madrid, which beat Málaga, 1-0. Madrid remained a point behind in third place with three rounds left. Barcelona holds tiebreakers against both challengers and will get more rest while Atlético and Madrid appear in the Champions League semifinals.
With back-to-back wins by a combined score of 14-0, Barcelona has re-established its command of a competition it had appeared set to win easily before its stunning run of four rounds without a win threw the race open.
UNITED IN F.A. CUP FINAL Anthony Martial’s stoppage-time goal sent Manchester United into its first F.A. Cup final in nine years with a 2-1 victory over Everton.
The F.A. Cup could be only a consolation prize for United if it does not follow a top-four finish in the Premier League, which would secure a route back into the Champions League.
With four games remaining, United remains fifth, 4 points behind Arsenal. Manchester City is a further point ahead in third place after beating Stoke, 4-0, in one of four league games.
Newcastle remained in the relegation zone even after coming from behind to draw, 2-2, at Liverpool. Southampton preserved its outside shot at qualifying for the Europa League by defeating already-relegated Aston Villa, 4-2. Chelsea, the deposed champion, won, 4-1, at Bournemouth.
The focus shifts to the title race in the coming days. Leicester, which has a 5-point lead over Tottenham, hosts Swansea on Sunday. Tottenham faces West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane the following day.
BAYERN NEARS TITLE Bayern Munich ground past Hertha Berlin, 2-0, and Borussia Dortmund kept the Bundesliga title race alive for at least one more week with a 3-0 victory at Stuttgart. Bayern would have won the title with a win and a Dortmund loss.
Bayern can seal an unprecedented fourth title with a win at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach next weekend, but it first visits Atlético Madrid for the opening leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.
“It’s not easy to keep pushing every three or four days, especially when everyone expects you to win,” Bayern’s Thomas Müller said.
Arturo Vidal scored three minutes after the break, and Douglas Costa sealed the win late to keep Bayern 7 points clear of Dortmund with three games left.