BARCELONA: Red-hot Robert Lewandowski and Pablo Torre both scored twice as Barcelona hammered Sevilla 5-1 on Sunday to maintain their three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, ahead of next weekend’s Clasico.
Earlier in the day, Alexander Sorloth’s brace helped Atletico Madrid, currently third in the standings, come from behind to beat neighbors Leganes 3-1.
Real Madrid had temporarily pulled level with Barcelona after defeating Celta Vigo on Saturday. However, Barcelona quickly restored their advantage with a dominant display of attacking football at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.
Barcelona were in control throughout the match, effectively sealing the win with three goals in a 15-minute span during the first half. The scoring began with a Lewandowski penalty in the 24th minute after Raphinha was fouled. Just four minutes later, Pedri doubled the lead with a bullet strike from the edge of the box. Lewandowski added a third goal in the 39th minute, bringing his tally to 12 league goals in 10 games.
In the second half, Torre came off the bench to score Barcelona’s fourth goal in the 82nd minute. Although Stanis Idumbo netted a consolation goal for Sevilla in the 87th minute, Torre wrapped up the scoring with a free kick into the far corner.
Barcelona’s victory over Sevilla marked their ninth win in 10 La Liga games this season. The team now prepares for a challenging week, hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before traveling to face Real Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.
“Winning like this is very important for the games to come,” Pedri told Movistar Plus. “Today we had to leave with more than just the three points, we needed that good feeling we got. The coach told us that there was going to be spaces at the edge of the box and we took advantage of that.”
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid struggled initially against Leganes, with Yvan Neyou blasting the visitors ahead. However, Sorloth leveled with a fine finish, and Antoine Griezmann slid home the second goal. Sorloth wrapped up the victory in stoppage time with a poacher’s finish.
“In the second half, we improved a bit, especially in speeding up the game,” Simeone told Movistar.
Atletico, who will face Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday, climbed to third in the standings with 20 points, four behind Real Madrid.
ALSO READ:
https://flarenews.pk/2024/10/22/building-a-future-with-unified-citizens/
