Barcelonas Luis Suarez (L) celebrates with his teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr after scoring against Deportivo la Coruna at the Estadio Riazor on Wednesday.
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Barcelona thrashed Deportivo 8-0 and Suarez scored four goals to take his tally to 49 for the season.
Second-placed on goal difference, Atletico Madrid also won against Athletic Bilbao to ensure they remain level on points with Barcelona with Real Madrid one point behind in third.
Atletico prevailed 1-0 in Bilbao, in typically gritty fashion, thanks to a solitary goal from veteran Fernando Torres, who has scored in five consecutive games for the first time in his illustrious career.
Real Madrid kept up the pressure on the top two with a 3-0 win over Villarreal leaving them one point off the top.
Barcelona “remain in control of their own fate and few would bet against them winning their last four games and claiming a 24th Liga title after a performance as good as any in the 39-game unbeaten run they enjoyed prior to losing at home to Real Madrid earlier this month”, says the Daily Telegraph.
“The victory was crucial for us”, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “When we win, we win as a team and when we lose, we lose together”. Real have won all nine games against Rayo since their neighbours returned to the top flight in 2011, thrashing them 10-2 in December with Bale scoring four times.
Correa eventually made the telling contribution just five minutes after coming on as a substitute as his shot from outside the box flicked off Raul Albentosa to leave Guillermo Ochoa helpless and Atletico recorded a 32nd clean sheet of the season to seal all three points.
Cristiano Ronaldo sustained a minor muscle injury against Villarreal and is expected to be sidelined against Rayo so he can be fully fit for the team’s game at Manchester City in the semifinals of the Champions League on Tuesday. They could have decided La Liga, but we reduced the gap instead.
Meanwhile, Sporting Gijon came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at home in the midweek, boosting their chances of escaping relegation this season.
But Suarez’s 13-minute first-half brace allayed those initial fears for Luis Enrique’s men, before Ivan Rakitic struck two minutes after the interval to put the game beyond Victor Sanchez’s men.
Despite his progress, Halilovic’s agent Zoran Stojadinovic believes the midfielder should target a Barcelona breakthrough next season rather than another loan spell away from the Nou Camp.
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“There’s still a lot of league left, we are thrilled”, Spanish league president Javier Tebas said Monday.
