The hosts got off to a flying start as Pedro Rodriguez, once again deputising for Neymar, opened the scoring with a smart finish from Ivan Rakitic's wonderful through ball inside two minutes.
Barca then struggled to build on their lead for the rest of the first period, but Suarez capped another quick start to the second period when he poked home from close range to end a seven-game drought in the league since returning from a four-month ban for biting.
Gerard Pique headed in a third before Messi rounded off the scoring with two stunning finishes in the final 10 minutes.
"I was able to score and that helps relax me. I don't know if we were affected, but the draw with Getafe last week annoyed us. We had to come here today and show that we're in the fight for the Liga title," Suarez said.
"Scoring is always important, but with the support of everyone we all knew that this happy moment would come. I'm a forward and I have to score goals, but I'm also helping the side to achieve its aims.
"For this I hadn't got too obsessed with getting on the scoresheet. The most important thing was that the team won and we achieved that.
" Pedro was rewarded for his hat-trick in the 8-1 thrashing of Huesca in midweek with a start as Neymar was only fit enough for the bench.
Victory moves Barca six points clear of champions Atletico Madrid, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, but Real Madrid will end the year on top despite having played a game less due to their participation in the Club World Cup this weekend.
A stoppage time penalty from Andreas Ivanschitz denied David Moyes a first La Liga win away from home as his Real Sociedad side had to settle for a point despite being given the lead just after halftime by Sergio Canales.
Valencia moved up to fourth with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Eibar thanks to Paco Alcacer's goal on the half hour mark.
With Sevilla not in action as they were due to face Real this weekend, Valencia move a point ahead of the Andalusians in the final Champions League slot.
0 comments:
Post a Comment