Skip to main content

Suarez gets brace as Barca beat Las Palmas 5-0

Luis Suarez scored twice on Saturday as FC Barcelona cut Real Madrid’s La Liga lead to two points by thrashing Las Palmas.

Suarez turned in an Andre Gomes cut-back for the only goal of the first half, but hosts Barca then scored three quick goals after the break.

Lionel Messi tapped in and Suarez then steered a lovely shot into the corner, before Arda Turan made it 4-0.

Aleix Vidal’s first goal for the club, placed into the corner from a Paco Alcacer pass, completed the rout.

Elsewhere in La Liga on Saturday, Nicolas Gaitan’s eighth-minute goal strengthened Atletico Madrid’s hold on fourth place as they beat Real Betis 1-0, while Athletic Bilbao were held 0-0 at Leganes.

Messi’s long-term future at the Nou Camp has been the subject of speculation for months.

This has been with little sign of progress in negotiations to extend a contract that runs out at the end of next season.

With talks seemingly at a delicate stage, FC Barcelona sacked an official who appeared to play down the Argentina forward’s value to the club.

Pere Gratacos, Barcelona’s head of sporting relations, suggested on Friday that it was the club’s other big names who make Messi as good as he is.

The controversy did nothing to shake Messi off his stride, though, as he maintained his excellent form.

He went close with a couple of free-kicks, one in each half, while his goal was a classic piece of poaching.

The striker timed his run into the middle perfectly, anticipating that goalkeeper Javi Varas might spill a driven Rafinha cross.

He was in the right place to score for the seventh game in a row — his 26th goal of the season.

Having dropped two points — and very nearly three — in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal last weekend, FC Barcelona had to win here to remain in touch with leaders Real Madrid.

With Real Madrid facing a Sunday trip to Sevilla, who started Saturday above Barca in second place, manager Luis Enrique knew this was the weekend to potentially make up ground.

Yet he took a risk in his team selection, resting Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Neymar to keep them fresh for a congested schedule.

This includes two Copa del Rey matches against Real Sociedad in the next fortnight.

Enrique was bitten badly by rotation in September when, with one eye on the Champions League, he made seven changes for a home league game against promoted Alaves.

They lost it 2-1.

This time, there was no slip-up against a Las Palmas side without an away win in La Liga since the season’s opening weekend.

Turan, called in at Neymar’s expense, justified his inclusion by scoring Barcelona’s fourth goal.

He kept his cool to steer a loose ball into the net after Suarez had sprinted clear and been denied by Varas.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg

FG berates US congressman over comment

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture Photo: Femi Ipaye/PM News The Federal Government has described as sadly out of tune with reality the published letter from US Congressman Tom Marino to Secretary of State John Kerry, asking the US to withhold security assistance to Nigeria on the strength of some imaginary infraction by the Buhari Administration. In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what is nothing but a ‘propaganda of his own imagination’. The Minister said by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the Congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues. ”Insecurity anywhere i

Aubameyang leads Gabon to Nations Cup

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the cast for Gabon as the hosts became the first team to name their final 2017 Africa Cup of Nations squad. The team captain and Borussia Dortmund star will lead the home players out for the opening game of the tournament against debutants Guinea-Bissau on 14 January in Libreville. Gabon have also named Sunderland midfielder Didier Ndong despite the player being left out of November’s World Cup qualifier in Mali. Ndong was in the capital city Libreville but failed to turn up for international duty ahead of the Mali game last month, forcing the Gabonese Football Federation [Fegafoot] to send him back to England. But a remorseful Ndong, who held clear-the-air talks with Fegafoot has been included in a 23-man Panthers squad. Other names to make the final party include Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, Bruno Ecuélé Manga of Cardiff City and China-based striker Malick Evouna. Gabon coach José Antonio Camacho included three do