The La Liga title race shows no sign of abating as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid all win on Wednesday night

Just one month ago, the suggestion that anyone other than Barcelona would be crowned champions in May would have been dismissed as foolish in the extreme.

It started when...

Luis Suarez scores four in Barca rout

Luis Suarez scored four goals as Barcelona got their La Liga title charge back on track with an emphatic 8-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.Having opened the door to Atletico and Real Madrid with three consecutive league defeats, the Catalans could ill afford another slip up in the title race at Estadio Riazor.But Suarez's 13-minute first-half brace allayed those initial fears for Luis Enrique's men, before Ivan Rakitic struck two minutes after the interval to put the game beyond Victor Sanchez's menBarca then cut loose as Suarez scored twice more before Lionel Messi, Marc Bartra and Neymar completed the rout.The result sees Barca remain top of the Primera Division and heap pressure on title rivals Real, who play Villarreal later on Wednesday night.It took the Catalans just 11 minutes to break the deadlock at the Riazor, with Suarez out-muscling Deportivo centre-back Sidnei to turn Rakitic's corner home from close range.The outcome of the game then hinged on the next 13 minutes as Celso Borges spurned two glorious chances to get the hosts level.First he failed to turn Lucas' floated ball home on 18 minutes before Claudio Bravo thwarted his tame effort, after Cani's deflected shot fell for him six yards out.And Deportivo were made to pay five minutes later as Messi's incisive pass put Suarez through on and the Uruguayan drilled low past Manuel Fernandez.Suarez should have completed his hat-trick on 34 minutes but somehow managed to hit Dani Alves' cross over the target from six yards.The miss didn't prove costly, though, as Barca got their third on 47 minutes, with Rakitic volleying Suarez's cross clinically into the back of the net.Suarez did get his third six minutes later as Barca cut the hosts' defence to shreds again, with Messi's clever pass playing the former Liverpool man through, before he scored his fourth on 64 minutes.Lucas spurned another good chance to reduce the arrears for the hosts on 69 minutes and they were punished again as Messi got in on the act, turning Suarez's unselfish cross beyond Manuel 17 minutes from time.Bartra then bagged the goal of the game with Barca' seventh, bursting from deep into the Deportivo area before producing a fine finish.And then it was left for Neymar to end his month-long wait for a goal with his side's eighth, converting Suarez's cross from close range on 81 minutes.

Atletico Madrid overcame Athletic Bilbao 1-0 as Fernando Torres continued his recent resurgence with his fifth goal in as many matches.Barcelona and Real Madrid also recorded victories on Wednesday, leaving Atletico level on points with Barca but second in the table due to their inferior head-to-head record, and one point clear of third-placed Real.Torres was sent off against the league leaders in the Champions League last month but he has since netted in La Liga games against Espanyol, Granada and now Bilbao, the Spaniard's 38th-minute header proving the difference at the San Mames Stadium.At the other end of the table, Sporting Gijon climbed out of the relegation zone with a surprise 2-1 win over Sevilla.Isma Lopez scored an injury-time winner to give the home side a valuable three points, which moves them into 17th, above Granada, who play Levante on Thursday.It was only Sporting's second victory in 13 league matches and leaves Sevilla seventh, five points off the top six.Valencia's hopes of securing European football are all-but over but Los Che beat Eibar 4-0 to jump up to eighth, above Malaga, who drew 1-1 at home to Rayo Vallecano.

AND ThenFernando Torres hit the winner as Atletico Madrid stayed in title contention

Real Madrid kept up the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday night.Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Real in the first half, before Lucas Vazquez and Luka Modric secured the three points after break.The result keeps Zinedine Zidane's side a point behind leaders Barcelona and second-placed Atletico, who had both won earlier in the night.
Barcelona ended a run of poor results with an 8-0 win at Deportivo la Coruna, while Atletico secured a 1-0 triumph at Athletic Bilbao.Perhaps due to Barcelona's overwhelming victory, the atmosphere was largely flat at the Bernabeu at kick-off, and it showed in the home side's display for the majority of the first half.Real had plenty of possession, but didn't look like breaking through Villarreal's defence until their opener after 41 minutes.Cristiano Ronaldo, Real's biggest threat, burst down the left before crossing into the six-yard box. The ball was palmed away by Sergio Asenjo, but he only sent it as far as the onrushing Benzema, who had the easiest of jobs to guide a header into an empty net.The goal finally brought the game to life and Villarreal had their first meaningful attack almost immediately after falling behind, Denis Suarez forcing a decent save out of Keylor Navas after breaking into space on the edge of Real Madrid's area.Real improved after the break, but still struggled to create clear-cut chances until Vazquez doubled their lead after 69 minutes.The winger, in for the injured Gareth Bale, played a great one-two with Benzema before charging into the area and slamming the ball just inside Asenjo's near post, clipping the inside of the upright as it went in.And seven minutes later the game really was up for a disappointing Villarreal side - who play Liverpool in the Europa League semi-final next Thursday night - as Modric made it three.Again, Benzema was involved as he released Danilo down the right, and the full-back found Modric in the area, who used his first touch to fire home.The title race now rumbles onto Saturday, when Real travel to Rayo Vallecano before Atletico host Malaga and Barcelona play Sporting Gijon.

Then Zinedine Zidane's side keep up pressure on Barcelona

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