Barcelona vs. Sporting Gijon: Score, Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi kept Barcelona’s hopes for back-to-back league titles alive by inspiring a 6-0 win over Sporting Gijon at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Suarez hit four second-half goals, including two penalties, after Messi had started the scoring with less than 15 minutes gone in the opening half. Neymar added a fifth late on, just about turning in Barcelona’s third penalty of the game.

Another win puts Barca back on top spot after both Madrid sides had leapfrogged them earlier in the day. The reigning champions are now a point ahead of Real Madrid, while they continue to lead second-placed Atletico only by virtue of a superior head-to-head record this season.

For Suarez, it’s the second game in a row with four goals, following his stunning quartet during the recent 8-0 away win over Deportivo La Coruna.

But it was tense and nervy stuff early on from Barcelona, with Sporting likely feeling aggrieved that a big first-half decision didn’t go their way, along with some soft calls after the break. The away side also squandered several glorious openings on the break.

Manager Luis Enrique probably hoped for a more confident initial display from a familiar starting XI that included Messi and his fellow prolific forwards, Neymar and Suarez, per the club:

Barça XI ????????13.Bravo3.Piqué4.Rakitic5.Sergio8.Iniesta9.Suárez10.Messi11.Neymar14.Mascherano18.Jordi Alba20. S.Roberto#FCBLive

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 23, 2016

Former Barca defender and current Sporting boss Abelardo raised an eyebrow when he included Barcelona loanee Alen Halilovic in the lineup, per the club’s official site:

???? XI SPORTING: Hoy jugamos con este once inicial ante el @FCBarcelona_es ????????⚪????⚪ #PuxaSporting pic.twitter.com/GyeC9Ff73F

— Real Sporting (@RealSporting) April 23, 2016

As is so often the case, Barca needed Messi to awaken them from a sluggish start. He duly obliged when he jumped to nod Andres Iniesta’s sly pass over Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar.

Sky Sports Revista de La Liga relayed highlights of the …

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