Barca rewrite La Liga history

AFP, MADRID: Barcelona equalled a club record of 28 games unbeaten to move three points clear at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Levante on Sunday.
The European champions were far from their best in coach Luis Enrique's 100th game in charge, but David Navarro's own goal and Luis Suarez's strike in stoppage time was enough to secure a 10th consecutive win in all competitions.
Barca now lead Atletico Madrid by three points and have a game in hand on Diego Simeone's men.
Third-placed Real Madrid are now seven points adrift of Barca, but can cut the gap when they travel to Granada later on Sunday.
Fresh from hitting Gary Neville's Valencia for seven in the Copa del Rey in midweek, Barca started with purpose and should have been ahead inside two minutes when Lionel Messi was wrongly flagged offside as he slotted home from Andres Iniesta's pass.
Neymar then had a fine curling effort beaten to safety by Diego Marino.
However, Barca needed a slice of luck to open the scoring on 21 minutes as Jordi Alba burst down the left and his ball into the box was deflected into his own net by Navarro.
Barca's star front three of Suarez, Messi and Neymar were kept for long periods, but they nearly combined for a brilliant second moments later when Messi picked out Neymar and his driven cross was turned just wide by Suarez.
Levante remain rooted to the foot of the table, but had won their previous two home games and deserved to be at least level at the break as they outplayed the Catalans in the latter stages of the first-half.
Verza fired a free-kick inches over before Jefferson Lerma had a great chance to level when he skewed horribly wide with just Claudio Bravo to beat.
Jose Luis Morales came closest to equalising when his low effort came back off the post eight minutes before the break.
Levante continued to enjoy the better of the game in the second period, but found clear-cut chances hard to come by as former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi's shot from outside the box was the only time Bravo was forced into action.
Barca had barely threatened themselves after half-time, but did seal the points deep into stoppage time on the counter-attack as Messi picked out an unmarked Suarez to fire home his 35th goal of the season.
Earlier on Saturday, Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as Los Rojiblancos came from behind to move level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga thanks to a 3-1 win over Eibar.
Central defensive pairing Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul Niguez headed home corners after Keko had fired Eibar into a shock lead just after half-time before Torres ended a five-month goal drought in stoppage time.
Atletico’s first win in five games also opens up a four-point lead over third-placed Real Madrid, who are also in action on Sunday away at Granada.
Diego Simeone’s men were without four defenders as Diego Godin, Filipe Luis and Juanfran were all suspended from last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Barcelona, whilst Stefan Savic was injured.
However, their makeshift defence wasn’t tested in a first-half short on chances as Antoine Griezmann volleyed over from a narrow angle, whilst Angel Correa had a strong penalty waived away.
Atletico were stunned a minute after the restart when Niguez - who was deputising out of position at centre-back - slipped and allowed Sergi Enrich to square for Keko to calmly lift the ball over the advancing Jan Oklak to open the scoring.
The goal shocked Atletico into action and they turned the game around with two goals in eight minutes.
Firstly, Gimenez powered in at the near post to meet Koke’s in-swinging corner for his first goal of the season.
And from another dangerous Koke corner, Saul was left unmarked to head in despite Abel Riesgo getting a hand to his effort.
Yannick Carrasco fired inches wide and Luciano Vietto had a goal narrowly ruled out for offside as Atletico looked to kill the game off.
Torres was giving a standing ovation as he was brought on for the final 15 minutes with his future at the club beyond the end of the season uncertain due to a transfer ban hanging over the club which could prevent Atletico making his loan move from AC Milan permanent.
However, the former Liverpool and Chelsea did finally find the net for the first time since the sides last met in September when Vietto’s excellent low cross left him with the simple task of tapping into an empty net in stoppage time.

Barca rewrite La Liga history

AFP, MADRID: Barcelona equalled a club record of 28 games unbeaten to move three points clear at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Levante on Sunday. The European champions were far from their best in coach Luis Enriques 100th game in charge, but David Navarros own goal and Luis Suarezs strike in stoppage time was enough to secure a 10th consecutive win in all competitions. Barca now lead Atletico Madrid by three points and have a game in hand on Diego Simeones men. Third-placed Real Madrid are now seven points adrift of Barca, but can cut the gap when they travel to Granada later on Sunday. Fresh from hitting Gary Nevilles Valencia for seven in the Copa del Rey in midweek, Barca started with purpose and should have been ahead inside two minutes when Lionel Messi was wrongly flagged offside as he slotted home from Andres Iniestas pass. Neymar then had a fine curling effort beaten to safety by Diego Marino. However, Barca needed a slice of luck to open the scoring on 21 minutes as Jordi Alba burst down the left and his ball into the box was deflected into his own net by Navarro. Barcas star front three of Suarez, Messi and Neymar were kept for long periods, but they nearly combined for a brilliant second moments later when Messi picked out Neymar and his driven cross was turned just wide by Suarez. Levante remain rooted to the foot of the table, but had won their previous two home games and deserved to be at least level at the break as they outplayed the Catalans in the latter stages of the first-half. Verza fired a free-kick inches over before Jefferson Lerma had a great chance to level when he skewed horribly wide with just Claudio Bravo to beat. Jose Luis Morales came closest to equalising when his low effort came back off the post eight minutes before the break. Levante continued to enjoy the better of the game in the second period, but found clear-cut chances hard to come by as former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossis shot from outside the box was the only time Bravo was forced into action. Barca had barely threatened themselves after half-time, but did seal the points deep into stoppage time on the counter-attack as Messi picked out an unmarked Suarez to fire home his 35th goal of the season. Earlier on Saturday, Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as Los Rojiblancos came from behind to move level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga thanks to a 3-1 win over Eibar. Central defensive pairing Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul Niguez headed home corners after Keko had fired Eibar into a shock lead just after half-time before Torres ended a five-month goal drought in stoppage time. Atleticos first win in five games also opens up a four-point lead over third-placed Real Madrid, who are also in action on Sunday away at Granada. Diego Simeones men were without four defenders as Diego Godin, Filipe Luis and Juanfran were all suspended from last weekends 2-1 defeat at Barcelona, whilst Stefan Savic was injured. However, their makeshift defence wasnt tested in a first-half short on chances as Antoine Griezmann volleyed over from a narrow angle, whilst Angel Correa had a strong penalty waived away. Atletico were stunned a minute after the restart when Niguez - who was deputising out of position at centre-back - slipped and allowed Sergi Enrich to square for Keko to calmly lift the ball over the advancing Jan Oklak to open the scoring. The goal shocked Atletico into action and they turned the game around with two goals in eight minutes. Firstly, Gimenez powered in at the near post to meet Kokes in-swinging corner for his first goal of the season. And from another dangerous Koke corner, Saul was left unmarked to head in despite Abel Riesgo getting a hand to his effort. Yannick Carrasco fired inches wide and Luciano Vietto had a goal narrowly ruled out for offside as Atletico looked to kill the game off. Torres was giving a standing ovation as he was brought on for the final 15 minutes with his future at the club beyond the end of the season uncertain due to a transfer ban hanging over the club which could prevent Atletico making his loan move from AC Milan permanent. However, the former Liverpool and Chelsea did finally find the net for the first time since the sides last met in September when Viettos excellent low cross left him with the simple task of tapping into an empty net in stoppage time.