Winning 6-1, Barca takes the lead in La Liga

Lionel Messi and his teammates crushed Sporting Gijon in the early match of round 25 on the evening of March 1.

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Neymar scores again for Barca. Photo: Reuters.

Goals: Messi 9', Rodriguez own goal 11', Luis Suarez 27', Alcacer 49', Neymar 65', Rakitic 87' - Castro 21'

Against the second-bottom team, Barca did not take long to score. In the ninth minute, Messi opened the scoring with a header. In this situation, Javier Mascherano's long pass was so accurate that M10 did not need to jump to send the ball flying past goalkeeper Cuellar.

The early goal was also a sign of an unlucky day for Gijon. Just two minutes later, goalkeeper Cuellar had to go into the net again. This time, defender Juan Rodriguez put the ball into his own net after clearing a shot from Luis Suarez.

Gijon had almost only one scoring chance all game. This chance came in the 21st minute and was taken successfully. Carlos Castro scored by collecting the rebound from teammate Sergio Alvarez's shot that hit the post.

Luis Suarez continued to shine with an impressive volley goal.

In terms of playmaking, midfielder Ivan Rakitic played just as well as Messi. This player seemed to be regaining his best form when he continuously made passes and coordinated well in the midfield. In the 27th minute, Rakitic indirectly created the third goal for Barca when he made a cross that forced the Gijon defense to clear. Immediately after, Suarez received the ball and volleyed to score easily.

Besides his leading role in midfield, Rakitic also shined with the finishing touch that sealed the 6-1 victory. In this situation, the Croatian star coordinated a wall pass with Sergi Roberto before volleying from a tight angle.

After a series of early goals, coach Luis Enrique decided to take his key players off. Among them were Suarez and Messi. Before leaving the field, M10 managed to set up Paco Alcacer to increase the score to 4-1.

Messi scored one goal to continue leading the race for La Liga's top scorer with a total of 21 goals.

M10 could have even scored a brace if his free kick early in the second half had not hit the post and gone wide. After he left the pitch, Neymar took charge of the free kick and brilliantly scored from another. In the 65th minute, the Brazilian striker sent the ball flying into the top corner, leaving goalkeeper Cuellar with only a hand but unable to save the goal.

After the resounding victory, Barca took the lead in La Liga with 57 points after 25 rounds. Real had to fall to second place with one point less, after being held to a 3-3 draw by Las Palmas at home.

Real currently have one game less than Barca. If they beat Celta Vigo in the make-up match, coach Zidane's team can regain the lead.

According to VNE