Barcelona 3-0 Eibar
Barcelona maintained their four-point lead at the summit of the Spanish La Liga with a 3-0 win over Eibar.
Goals from Xavi Hernandez, Neymar and Lionel Messi helped the Catalan giants maintain their unbeaten league run.
After a resilient display by Eibar, Xavi and Messi exchanged passes for the former to loft the ball over the advancing Eibar goalkeeper Irureta for his first of the season.
Neymar turned Danny Alves’ cross home for his ninth goal of the season 19 minutes from time before the Brazil international turned provider for Messi’s 250th La Liga goals in 285 appearances- a goal away from tying Telmo Zarra’s 59-year-old record.
Levante 0-5 Real Madrid
Real continued scoring big with an emphatic win away to Levante with Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing a brace and Javier Hernandez, James Rodriguez and Isco complementing the Portuguese superstar’s effort.
The victory helped the ‘Los Blancos’ keep pressure on leaders Barca ahead of next weekend’s first El Clasico of the season. It was the fifth time they have scored at least five goals in their last seven matches.
Ronaldo opened scoring from the penalty spot after Juanfran fouled Javier Hernandez and then finished off a counter attack for his 10th league goal in four matches, either side of Hernandez’s close-range header.
Ronaldo’s has now scored 15 league goals in eight matches, which is a new La Liga record. The previous best goalscoring start to a Spanish league campaign had come in 1943-44 shen Oviedo’s Esteban Echevarria scored 14 times.
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Atletico revived their La Liga season following a 3-1 loss to Valencia before the international break. Goals from Tiago and Mario Suarez helped the defending La Liga champions move up to fourth with 17 points from eight games.
Espanyol’s resilience was broken two minutes from the interval when their defence failed to clear Koke’s corner, allowing Tiago to rise highest in a jam packed goal area and send a looping header past goalkeeper Kiko Casilla following a Gabi cross from the right wing.
Suarez wrapped up the contest in the 71st minute, when again the visitors failed to clear an Atletico corner and the tapped home from the far post.
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Celta Vigo
Nolito’s 73rd -minute equaliser earned Celta Vigo a point at Athletic Bilbao. Aritz Aduriz needed only six minutes to place the struggling hosts in front with a penalty.
Cordoba 1-2 Malaga
First-half goals from Samu and a penalty by Nordin Amrabat helped Malaga seal a 2-1 win at winless Cordoba. Nabil Ghilas grabbed a consolation for Cordoba in the fourth minute of added time.
Deportivo 3-0 Valencia
Deportivo ended Valencia’s unbeaten league run to boost their own La Liga campaign after a poor start. Victor Fernandez’s men had managed just four points from their opening seven games, losing four matches on the trot. But the win in front of the Riazor faithful moved Valencia out of the drop zone.
An own goal from Valencia defender Jose Gaya put the hosts in front in the 36th minute. Midfielder Lucas Perez added a second just before the interval before substitute Jose Toche put the game beyond the previously in form Valencia late in the second-half.
Villarreal 2-0 Almeria
Ikechukwu Uche provided both goals as Villarreal sealed a 2-0 win at home to Almeria to move two places up the Spanish La Liga standings to 6th on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Nigeria international headed home from close range his first of the night in the 23th minute, a rebound from Mario Gaspar’s shot blocked by Almeria goalkeeper Ruben.
Uche doubled his side’s advantage just before the hour mark, firing in from close range after Ruben had stopped his own initial effort.
Uche, who arrived in Spain in 2002 and previously featured for the likes of Recreativo, Getafe and Zaragoza, has now scored 100 goals throughout spells in the Segunda and Primera divisions.
Sevilla 2-0 Elche
Second-half strikes by Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro guided Sevilla past a determined Elche.
Unai Emery’s side capitalized on Valencia’s slump against Deportivo to move second in the Spanish league table.
Bacca broke the deadlock just before the hour mark, knocking home a rebound from a Gerard Deulofeu’s free-kick. Substitute Gameiro doubled the hosts’ advantage by nodding in a cross from Denis Suarez 17 minutes to the dead.
