Luis Suarez paid tribute to teammates Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta after the pair helped him notch four goals for the second La Liga game in a row as Barcelona thumped Real Sporting de Gijon 6-0 on Saturday.
The Uruguay striker became the first-ever La Liga player to score four goals for the second successive match, keeping Barca top of the table on goal-difference ahead of Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid one point adrift in third.
“Leo is the one who manages everything, all the stages of the game, and we are eternally grateful to him,” Suarez said. “Andres’ magic is always there, that’s why he has the [big] name he has. He has been a really important player for us this year.”
Photo: Reuters
Suarez netted four times, twice from the penalty spot, in the space of 25 second-half minutes as Barca followed up their midweek 8-0 rout of RC Deportivo de La Coruna.
“I am a bit surprised to score eight goals in four days,” said Suarez, who was on target twice from open play following good passes from fellow striker Messi and midfielder Iniesta.
The former Liverpool forward has 34 league goals this season, moving ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (31) as the top scorer with three games to go.
Suarez is also in line to claim the Golden Boot as Europe’s leading marksman, a prize he shared with Ronaldo in 2013-2014.
However, he is more focused on firing Barca to the league title.
“Being top scorer wasn’t my objective and now we have three games left, and with the help of my teammates, if I can do it I’ll welcome it, but the priority for the team is the league,” Suarez said.
Barcelona were awarded a third penalty late on and the Uruguayan gave the ball to Brazil forward Neymar to convert from the spot, a move which impressed defender Gerard Pique.
“He has proved for a long time that he’s generous,” Pique said. “We hope he spends many more years here.”
In Madrid, Zinedine Zidane labeled Gareth Bale’s display as “phenomenal” as the Welshman struck twice to inspire a Real Madrid fightback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano de Madrid on Saturday.
Without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale took responsibility to keep Real’s title hopes alive after Rayo went 2-0 up inside 15 minutes thanks to goals from Adrian Embarba and Miku.
A towering header from Bale brought Madrid back into the game and fittingly he struck the winner nine minutes from time after Lucas Vazquez had equalized just after halftime.
“He is very happy to make the difference,” Real coach Zidane said of Bale. “When we needed him he was phenomenal. He scored two, but even without speaking about the goals, he played very well.”
Bale’s brace took his tally to 18 in just 21 La Liga appearances, despite an injury-disrupted campaign, and Zidane is hopeful of more Bale magic on his first return to England since joining Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur three years ago when Real travel to face Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final tomorrow.
“I’m happy because he needed a bit of time and now he’s in good shape. Now he must rest up and start thinking about Tuesday. We needed him today and he performed really well,” Zidane said.
In Saturday’s other matches, Atletico Madrid maintained their title bid be edging Malaga 1-0, while Sociedad Deportiva Eibar were held 1-1 at home by RC Deportivo de La Coruna.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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