Real Madrid kept pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Wednesday while at the other end of the table Osasuna’s return to the top flight lasted just a season as their relegation was confirmed.
Barcelona took full advantage of playing first and threw down the gauntlet by temporarily opening up a three-point lead at the summit with a 7-1 Nou Camp thrashing of Osasuna, so it was up to Real Madrid to respond – and bounce back from Sunday’s dramatic home defeat in El Classico – in the late kick-off.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) April 26, 2017
There was no Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or Karim Benzema, but it was no problem for Zinedine Zidane’s team as they won 6-2 at Deportivo La Coruna to close the gap.
Perennial substitute Alvaro Morata again proved he has more ability than that of an understudy by opening the scoring inside a minute and James Rodriguez, who himself struggles for first-team opportunities, made it 2-0 before 15 minutes were up.
.@jamesdrodriguez @RCDeportivo VAMOOOOOOOOOS!
????⚽: @jamesdrodriguez#RMLiga #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/qUE4OY0PA9— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) April 26, 2017
Pepe Mel’s Deportivo, after a campaign of struggle now mathematically safe from the drop, gave Real Madrid food for thought with a Florin Andone goal 10 minutes before the break, but Lucas Vazquez re-established the two-goal cushion heading into half-time.
Colombian attacking midfielder Rodriguez staked his claim for more game time, or perhaps a reprieve from Zidane’s rumoured summer transfer list, with a second after the hour mark and Isco capped an impressive creative display with a goal of his own 11 minutes later.
.@isco_alarcon @RCDeportivo ⚽ @isco_alarcon's last contribution of the evening was our fifth goal! His first-time finish came after a good cross from @Lucasvazquez91.— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) April 26, 2017
Former Real Madrid B striker Joselu – on loan from Stoke – pulled another goal back for Deportivo but the visitors always had another in them and that honour fell to Casemiro.
Earlier on, Barcelona blitzed Osasuna with four goals in 10 second-half minutes.
Luis Enrique rested several of his regular starters, including Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba – an understandable move following gruelling matches against Juventus and Real Madrid, and before the weekend’s derby at Espanyol.
3️⃣ more! Congrats to @Mascherano for your first goal ⚽️ with @fcbarcelona. I hope we don't have to wait another 319 games for the next ???????? pic.twitter.com/BrhJpyCWWJ— Ivan Rakitic (@ivanrakitic) April 26, 2017
It seemed it would not matter much after Lionel Messi struck early and Andre Gomes extended the lead before half-time. However, the decision might have been briefly questioned when Roberto Torres pulled a goal back at the start of the second half.
But Gomes and Messi both got their second goals of the evening either side of the hour mark to put the game to bed and Paco Alcacer and Javier Mascherano, the latter from the penalty spot, quickly added gloss to the scoreline with just 67 minutes on the clock.
Alcacer became the third player to net a double with four minutes remaining to cap an emphatic scoreline to further increase confidence on the back of the El Clasico win at the Bernabeu.
75 min: FYI: Barça's 4th goal, which was also #Messi's 33rd of the season and 502nd of his career, was Barça's 150th this season! ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/PDVMzJoAY4— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 26, 2017
It got worse for Osasuna as shortly after their heavy loss their relegation was confirmed by Leganes’ 3-0 home win over Las Palmas.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad kept alive their hopes of European football with a 3-2 victory at Valencia. Sociedad are up to sixth in the table after a third victory in four games while Valencia are now without a win in three.
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