10-man Real Madrid held to a draw
Madrid: Barcelona thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 to go top of the La Liga points table on a dramatic night Wednesday as Luis Enrique announced he was stepping down as the Catalan club’s coach at the end of the season.
Barca sneaked ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid in La Liga after Zinedine Zidane’s side came from behind with 10 men following the sending-off of Gareth Bale to draw 3-3 at home to Las Palmas thanks to two late strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi scored for the fifth league game in a row to put Barca ahead in the ninth minute, heading Javier Mascherano’s floated pass over goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar.
Sporting defender Juan Rodriguez clumsily knocked Luis Suarez’s angled shot into his own net to double Barca’s advantage two minutes later but Carlos Castro pulled one back for the visitors at Nou Camp in the 21st minute from close range.
Suarez restored Barca’s two-goal lead by ruthlessly volleying home and the Uruguayan was taken off at half time, replaced by Paco Alcacer who got the fourth goal early in the second half following a lay-off from Messi.
Neymar struck a fifth in the 66th minute by curling a free-kick inside the near post and Ivan Rakitic capped a resounding attacking display by thumping home from inside the area.
Barca top the standings on 57 points, one ahead of Real, who have a game in hand on their arch rivals as they seek a first league title since 2012.
Zidane’s side clawed back from 1-3 down against Las Palmas thanks to Ronaldo, who converted a penalty and headed home from a corner one minute from time.
Real had looked to be on their way to a comfortable win over a Las Palmas side who had lost their last four games and had never won at the Bernabeu when Isco beat the off-side trap to score in the eighth minute.
Las Palmas midfielder Tana responded with a brilliant piece of skill to skip past Sergio Ramos and blasted into the roof of the net two minutes later. The game turned against Real when Bale was shown two yellow cards in under 10 seconds, first for kicking out at Jonathan Viera and then for pushing the striker in anger.
Viera fired Las Palmas into the lead from the penalty spot in the 56th minute after a handball by Ramos and Kevin Prince-Boateng stretched their lead three minutes later but Real, who had three goals ruled out, refused to give in.
Enrique set to quit club
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique confirmed Wednesday that he will quit the club at the end of season. Enrique said it was a very difficult decision. “I have thought about a lot, but I think I need to be true to myself and fair to my way of thinking. I need rest and that is main reason why I am quitting,” he informed reporters after the end of the game against Sporting Gijon. “I am thankful to the club for the confidence they have shown in me.” Enrique has won eight trophies since he took over as manager in May, 2014.