Two goals each from Luis Suarez and Paulinho earned Barcelona a 4-0 victory over struggling Deportivo La Coruna.
The Azulgrana controlled the game from start to finish, holding possession for extended periods while 17th-placed Deportivo failed to make much of an impact.
Conscious of next Saturday’s El Clasico against bitter rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona’s manager Ernesto Valverde kept Sergio Busquets, who was a yellow card away from a suspension, on the bench and drafted Croatian Ivan Rakitic to play in the defensive midfield role. He also pulled out Andres Iniesta, who appeared to be enjoying hid game, in the 55th minute.
If Busquets benching had been expected to have any negative bearing on Barça’s game, this failed to show as the former Sevilla man provided an important link between his defence and the creative midfield players Paulinho and Iniesta.
However, La Liga’s top scorer Lionel Messi failed to add to his 14-goal haul, hitting the pole three times and even missing a penalty after Suarez was brought down in Deportivo’s penalty area.
With the victory, Barcelona maintain a six-point gap over second-placed Atletico Madrid heading into a mouth-watering showdown with Real Madrid two days to Christmas.
The Camp Nou side are favourites to win the title, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Leave a Reply