Bale scores twice as Madrid tops Leganes to keep its lead

Messi was the difference again, scoring an equalizer in the 43rd and setting up Suarez’s victor in the 61st in the back-and-forth game at Sevilla.

But as halftime approached, Messi sparked a surge forward, combining with Denis Suarez and Neymar to equalise with Barca’s first clear effort on goal.

Sevilla lie fourth after 10 games, but just three points behind leaders Real Madrid, two adrift of Barca and level with Atletico Madrid.

Barca dominated the second half, Ivan Rakitic and Messi both shooting at Rico before Suarez showed more composure to slide the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs. A victory for Sevilla will see them move into second place, behind Real Madrid, and Sampaoli will surely fancy their chances. After the break, Barcelona took control and Luis Suarez fired in the victor in the 61st minute.

Leganes’ early season bounce after winning promotion appears to have disappeared and the side from the south of Madrid makes their first league visit to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on the back of three straight defeats.

The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium has proved to be a fortress in recent weeks, with just one goal conceded by the Andalusians in their last five home matches.

Sergi Roberto is Barcelona’s weakest link in defence and that is something Luciano Vietto and Vitolo will surely look to exploit.

The day before his side hosted Barcelona, Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli joked that Lionel Messi’s supremacy necessitated two Ballon d’Or competitions, “one for Messi and one for everyone else”.

Luis Enrique believes Barcelona passed an acid test of their mettle by coming back from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday. This approach can result in weaknesses of their own, but Sevilla keep going, relying on each of their players being responsible enough to cover for teammates.

Sarabia passed up a great chance to make it two when he took the freaky decision to backheel the ball towards the edge of the area when he had just Marc-Andre ter Stegen to beat. This is the team’s first time in the top flight. According to FirstPost, the “red and whites” haven’t lost any match in their last seven home games.

Seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao was held to a 0-0 draw at Espanyol for its third straight game without a league win.