Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi on target as Barcelona thrash Las Palmas
Luis Suárez scored twice and Lionel Messi was also on target as Barcelona thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 on Saturday with a ruthless second-half display at the Camp Nou to provisionally go second and cut the gap with the leaders Real Madrid to two points.
The Uruguay international Suárez scored his 101st goal for Barcelona by stroking in André Gomes’ cutback in the 15th minute as the Portuguese midfielder recorded his first assist for the club since his €35m move from Valencia last summer.
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The Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique, had rotated his side after Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, resting Neymar, Gerard Piqué, the captain Andrés Iniesta and Sergi Roberto but still watched his side dominate Las Palmas.
Messi found the net for the seventh consecutive competitive game but after scoring free-kicks in all three matches Barcelona played this year, Messi mopped up a loose ball on the rebound in the 52nd minute after Rafinha’s shot was only parried by the goalkeeper Javi Varas. It was Messi’s 13th goal in the last 12 matches and his first against Las Palmas, which was the only La Liga club he had previously not scored against.
Suárez curled in a pass from Rafinha to get his second and Barca’s third in the 57th minute and the Uruguayan spurned the chance to seal a hat-trick a minute later. But Arda Turan mopped up after Varas had saved to score the fourth, while the out-of-favour right-back Aleix Vidal netted his first goal for the club in the 80th minute.
Barcelona are second in the table, two points behind Real Madrid, who have played two games fewer and face third-placed Sevilla on Sunday. Atlético Madrid consolidated their hold on fourth spot when they beat Real Betis 1-0 later on Saturday.