Barca close in on La Liga title

Barcelona thrashed local rivals Espanyol 5-0 to move to within one win of a 24th La Liga title.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a brilliant free-kick, while Luis Suarez scored twice in the second half to move onto 37 goals for the season, putting him in prime position to collect the Pichichi award for top scorer.

Rafinha delighted the home fans by netting his first goal since returning from a serious knee injury, and then Neymar rounded off the scoring by tapping in Suarez’s low pass.

Barca stay top of La Liga by moving on to 88 points, one ahead of Real Madrid in second and three above Atletico Madrid, who drop out of the title race after losing 2-1 at Levante.

Messi put Barca ahead with a sumptuous free-kick. He stood over the free-kick from 22 yards and wrapped his left foot round the ball, sending it curling beautifully into the top corner, just beyond the reach of goalkeeper …

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