Luis Suárez continued his scoring run with four goals to help Barcelona remain La Liga leaders, on a day when the top three all won but in contrasting fashions.
Suárez scored his eighth goal in four days to fuel a 6-0 rout of Sporting Gijón, following another four-goal outing in the 8-0 destruction of Deportivo La Coruña.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring after only 12 minutes but it stayed 1-0 until the 63rd. Suárez doubled the advantage, before converting two penalties in quick succession for his hat-trick.
Barcelona were then awarded another penalty but this time the honour fell to Neymar, who made it 5-0 in the 85th minute. Suárez was not to be denied, however, and scored his fourth with a couple of minutes left.
Earlier, Gareth Bale scored twice, including a late winner, as Real Madrid came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano, while Atlético Madrid beat Málaga 1-0.
Barcelona lead Atlético on the basis of their head-to-head record, with Real one point behind. Barcelona holds tiebreakers against both challengers.
Suárez, who surpassed his 31 for Liverpool that led the English Premier League in 2013-14, said he was “surprised” by his recent scoring run. He also gave credit to Messi.
“Leo is the one who knows what the team needs at all times,” Suárez said. “His magic is always there and he showed it tonight.”
Suárez’s goals at the Camp Nou, which all came in the second half and twice from the penalty spot, took him to the top of the Spanish league scorers’ list with 34, moving past Ronaldo’s 31.
