Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored their 15th league goals of the season as Barcelona stayed on the heels of La Liga leader Real Madrid by winning 4-0 at Eibar Sunday although the win was marred by an injury to key midfielder Sergio Busquets. Substitute Denis Suarez scored his first goal for Barca, firing the visitors into the lead from the edge of the area in the 31st minute after replacing Busquets, who had been carried off on a stretcher with strained ankle ligaments following a crunching tackle by Eibar's Gonzalo Escalante. Messi stretched Barca's lead by finishing off a brilliant move with Luis Suarez in the 50th minute and the Uruguayan joined his close friend and strike partner on 15 league goals by robbing an Eibar defender and finishing inside the near post in the 68th. Neymar added an extra shine to the victory by netting in the 91st minute, scoring his first goal for Barca from open play since October. Barca is third on 41 points, two behind Real, which beat Malaga 2-1 Saturday and has a game in hand. Sevilla is second on 42 points, while Atletico Madrid faltered again despite a brilliant strike from Antoine Griezmann earning it a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao. Atletico remains fourth in the standings but is level on 35 points with Real Sociedad, which beat Celta Vigo 1-0 Sunday with a solitary header by striker Juanmi in the 71st minute. 2019 Asian Cup to begin on Jan. 5 The 2019 Asian Cup will begin on Jan. 5 and will be played over 28 days across eight stadiums in the United Arab Emirates, the continent's soccer governing body said Monday. The Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi will play host to the opening game and the final on Feb. 1 in the region's premier tournament for the member nations, the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement. Three stadiums in Abu Dhabi and two each in Dubai and Al-Ain and one in Sharjah will host the tournament, which will feature 24 teams for the first time after expanding from 16 in the last edition in Australia in 2015. Defending champion Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts United Arab Emirates have sealed their spots for the tournament. The continent's elite 12 will be joined by 12 others from the final round of qualifiers in which 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four. The winners and runners-up from each group will qualify for the Finals. Roma stays in title hunt In Milan, Edin Dzeko's second-half strike kept Serie A title challenger Roma in the hunt with a 1-0 win at home Cagliari that cut the gap on leader Juventus to one point Sunday. Fresh life was breathed into the race for the scudetto last week, especially for Roma and Napoli, when Juventus suffered a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina. Atalanta is still punching above its weight, although it took Alejandro Gomez's 55th-minute spot kick to secure the points from a 1-0 win over Sampdoria that saw the Bergamo side move up to sixth, just a point behind Inter. Monaco thrashes Lorient After yet another ruthless display of attacking football, free-scoring Monaco moved to the top of the French league and padded out its huge goal difference following a 4-0 home win against Lorient Sunday. Striker Valere Germain and midfielder Gabriel Boschilia got two goals each. Monaco is two points ahead of Nice and three points clear of third-placed PSG heading into Sunday's clash. Lorient, which has conceded 43 goals, is bottom of the table. In other games, Lyon beat Marseille 3-1 and Saint-Etienne edged Angers 2-1.
