La Liga: Barcelona rout Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla stumble at Getafe

Sport360 staff 04:00 09/02/2015
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  • Lionel Messi celebrates with Neymar after scoring against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

    Barcelona took full advantage of Real Madrid's heavy defeat in the capital-city derby to close the gap at the top of the Primera Division to a single point on Sunday night.

    – #360view: Bilbao's squad deficiencies laid brutally bare
    – #360view: La Liga transfer disparity spells danger for future of La Liga

    Lionel Messi had a hand in all of Barcelona's goals, scoring one, as they trounced Athletic Bilbao 5-2, with strikes from Luis Suarez, Neymar, Pedro and an Oscar de Marcos own goal taking the Catalan giants clear.

    Mikel Rico and Aritz Aduriz notched for Bilbao, but they never looked capable of springing an upset against Luis Enrique's side.

    The win takes Barcelona up to 53 points and right onto Los Blancos' coattails after they lost 4-0 to third-placed rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

    It extends Barca's winning streak to nine games in all competitions, with the Catalan giants turning the screw ever since their shock 1-0 defeat to David Moyes' Real Sociedad last month.

    Valencia moved up to fourth in the Primera Division table after battling to a 2-1 win at Espanyol.

    Pablo Piatti marked his return from injury by putting the visitors ahead in the second half and Valencia doubled their lead when Dani Parejo's free-kick bounced off the face of hapless goalkeeper Pau Lopez.

    Valencia's Dani Parejo is elated after doubling their lead over Espanyol with a superb free-kick.

    Sergio Garcia pulled one back for the hosts in the 89th minute but Valencia held on to claim just a fourth away victory of the season, taking them two points clear of Sevilla.

    Sevilla slumped to a 2-1 defeat to strugglers Getafe.

    Pedro Leon tapped home the winner in the 85th minute to condemn the visitors to back-to-back defeats and lift Getafe further clear of the drop zone.

    Alvaro Vazquez's first-half penalty put the hosts in front before Grzegorz Krychowiak levelled midway through the second half.

    Two quickfire goals from Michel Macedo saw Almeria come from behind to win a relegation six-pointer at Cordoba 2-1.

    Fede Cartabia's free-kick had given the hosts the lead after 10 minutes but defender Macedo equalised just after the hour mark and four minutes later combined again with Arsenal loanee Welington Silva to head in the winner.

    Almeria have now won back-to-back games and move further away from the relegation zone and on to 22 points, sending Cordoba back into the bottom three.

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