Barcelona took another step towards successfully defending their Spanish league title with a tough away win even as their title rivals dropped points on Sunday, 6 January.
Goals from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1, a win which opened up a five-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who had to fight back for a 1-1 draw at third-placed Sevilla.
Real Madrid were the biggest losers of the round, stunned 2-0 at home by Real Sociedad in a match they finished with 10 men and 10 points behind Barcelona in fifth place.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde refused to rule Real out of contention.
“They are still in it,” Valverde said. “Mathematically they are still not out of it and we have to be prudent. We know the competitive DNA that Madrid has. And besides, there are other rivals like Sevilla and Atletico that are always tough.”
Barca Go 5 Points Clear
Leading the league in terms of goals scored, Messi and Suarez have Barcelona looking like a champion-in-waiting.
Messi quashed a promising start by Getafe when he scored the 20th-minute opener. He raced forward to control a loose ball in the area, poked it between the legs of goalkeeper David Soria and slotted it home from a tight angle.
Suarez matched his teammate's effort in the 39th when he planted his left foot as a pivot and used his right leg to rifle the ball from the edge of the area into the corner of the net with a waist-high volley.
Messi leads the league with 16 goals, followed by Suarez in second place with 12.
Jaime Mata pulled one back for Getafe just before half-time, but Mata missed a golden chance to level in the second half when he missed an open net.
Getafe had only lost once in the previous nine rounds, and had conceded just one goal in their previous four home matches.
Real Out of Title Race?
Real Madrid self-destructed against Sociedad.
First, Casemiro, recently back from a injury layoff, committed an ill-advised foul inside his own area during Sociedad's first attack, gifting Willian Jose a third-minute penalty.
Then it was Lucas Vazquez, the team's busy winger, who earned two bookings for nasty tackles. That left his side down a man for the last half hour.
And even though Real continued to threaten, Sociedad eventually took advantage of the extra man to finish the hosts off with a late goal from substitute Ruben Pardo.
The defeat came just days after Real were held to a 2-2 draw at Villarreal.
“We committed an (early) error ... so we can't blame anyone but ourselves,” coach Santiago Solari said.
Sociedad got the win in what was their first match since coach Imanol Alguacil replaced the fired Asier Garitano.
Atletico, Sevilla in 1-1 Stalemate
It was Griezmann versus Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Wissam Ben Yedder put Sevilla ahead in the 37th minute of a first half that the hosts dominated – until Griezmann stepped up for Atletico.
After Thomas Partey earned a foul outside the area, Griezmann curved a free kick over the defensive barrier and into the corner of the net to level in the 45th.
It was the French forward's club-high eighth goal in the league, and his 12th in all competitions.
The stalemate allowed both rivals to extend their unbeaten streaks, with Atletico undefeated in 15 rounds and Sevilla in nine.
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