SEVILLE, Spain — Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored twice as Barcelona won 5-0 at Real Betis on Sunday with five second-half goals to increase its Spanish league lead.
Ivan Rakitic also scored for the Catalan club, which moved 11 points ahead of Atletico Madrid at the start of La Liga’s second half.
After 20 rounds, Barcelona has a 14-point lead over third-placed Valencia, and is 19 points in front of rival Real Madrid, which has a game in hand.
"There are 18 games left, that’s a lot," Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. "But with each win we will be taking a big step toward the title."
After an even first half at Benito Villamarin Stadium, Barcelona gained control of the match when Rakitic opened the scoring after a breakaway early in the second half. Messi scored his first goal five minutes later and Suarez quickly added to the lead.
Messi’s second goal in the 80th was one to admire, with the Argentine entering the area and going past two defenders before calmly finding the net.
Suarez closed the scoring just before the end, reaching his 100th goal in 114 matches with Barcelona.
"After the first goal we were able to play more openly," Valverde said.
Messi, who has scored seven goals in his last six games, leads the league with 19 goals, four more than Suarez. The Uruguay striker has scored at least a goal in seven consecutive league games. He has 10 goals in his last eight matches in all competitions.
Barcelona was coming off a 1-0 defeat at city rival Espanyol in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, a result that ended the team’s 29-match unbeaten streak. It remains without a loss in the league.
Betis, which dropped to 11th place, was coming off two straight wins, one of them at city rival Sevilla.
Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen came off with an apparent muscle injury before halftime. He was replaced by France international Samuel Umtiti, who returned after a long injury layoff.
On Saturday, Atletico was held to a 1-1 home draw against Girona, while Valencia lost 2-1 at Las Palmas.
Real Madrid ends winless run at home with rout of Deportivo
MADRID — Real Madrid made its fans happy again with its biggest league win of the season, despite Cristiano Ronaldo being covered in blood.
Ronaldo, who left the game late with a cut to his face, scored twice as Madrid routed Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 in the Spanish league on Sunday, ending a three-match winless streak at home and easing the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane and his players.
Ronaldo had to leave with about five minutes remaining after being hit by the foot of a defender while scoring the team’s sixth goal with a header. He was attended on the field for a while and could not continue as blood spilled over his face.
While walking off the field, with his face still stained by the blood, Ronaldo asked for the doctor’s cellphone to take a look at the injury.
Madrid had already made three substitutions, but the much-needed victory was already secured by then.
The fans who had loudly jeered the team in recent matches were cheering on their feet after the final whistle at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The easy win followed a series of poor results that all but ended Madrid’s title chances.
Gareth Bale and Nacho Fernandez also scored twice, and Luka Modric added another goal for Madrid as it regained fourth place in the standings, cutting its deficit to Barcelona to a still massive 16 points. With a game in hand, Madrid is five points behind third-place Valencia, and one point in front of fifth-place Villarreal.
Deportivo, in the relegation zone and winless in five games, gave Bernabeu fans an early scare when Adrian Lopez opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Nacho and Bale helped Madrid rally before halftime, and each scored again in the second half along with Modric. Ronaldo, who hadn’t found the net in three games, had scored with a shot from close range just a few minutes before getting injured.
Madrid was coming off a 1-0 loss to Villarreal, a 2-2 draw against second-division club Numancia in the Copa del Rey and a demoralizing 3-0 defeat to rival Barcelona.
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