Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as Barcelona went top of La Liga for the first time since October with a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves Saturday. In a dress rehearsal of the Copa del Rey final, Alaves paid for its semifinal exertions against Celta Vigo in midweek as Barca moved two points ahead of Real Madrid. However, Madrid has three games in hand, starting with a visit to Osasuna later Saturday. Barca's success was overshadowed, though, by violent clashes between fans outside the ground before kickoff which left one supporter in hospital with serious head injuries. And in another blow to the Catalans, Aleix Vidal was stretchered off with a horrible looking ankle injury just three minutes from time. On the field, Barca boss Luis Enrique rotated his squad once more with six changes from Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid that secured their place in a fourth consecutive Cup final. However, despite a trip to Paris Saint-Germain upcoming Tuesday, Messi, Suarez and Neymar were all included and ran riot. The visitors had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for not going behind early on with a brilliant one-on-one save from Theo Hernandez. There was no doubt over the outcome once Barca went in front thanks to a fine team move finished off by Suarez from close range eight minutes before half-time. A goalkeeping error from Fernando Pachecho allowed Barca to double its lead three minutes later as he punched a loose ball off Suarez's head and the ball rebounded for Neymar to tap into an empty net. The champions hit top form after the break with four further goals in eight minutes. Messi drilled his 34th goal of the season low past Pacheco just before the hour mark. The Argentine was then played in by Suarez, but the last touch came off Alaves defender Alexis to make it 4-0. Ivan Rakitic blasted home the fifth from Suarez's cut-back before the Uruguayan rounded off the rout himself after Pacheco had parried Neymar's initial effort. Yet, Barca's fine day was spoiled late on when Vidal's right ankle gave way under an innocuous looking challenge from Hernandez.In another match, Real Betis striker Ruben Castro hit Valencia post early on in scoreless stalemate that increased the winless streaks of both teams.
Last-gasp goals rescue Bayern Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich needed two late goals from Arturo Vidal and Arjen Robben to beat relegation-threatened Ingolstadt 2-0 Saturday in a bleak performance four days before they host Arsenal in the Champions League. It was hardly the dress rehearsal that Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti had hoped for ahead of their Round of 16 first leg against the Premier League club in Munich Wednesday. Despite the scrappy performance, Bayern opened up a seven-point lead at the top. Lacking any clear game plan and inspiration, it struggled against Ingolstadt's solid defense and had only one chance by Robert Lewandowski to show for after 45 minutes. Bayern almost scored right after the restart but a Thomas Mueller shot was cleared on the line. Poland forward Lewandowski hit the woodwork late in the game in their only other clear scoring chance before Vidal was left unmarked in the box to volley in for the lead in the 90th minute. Substitute Robben added another in stoppage time as Bayern moved up to 49 points. Second-placed Leipzig lost further ground on Bayern after being beaten 3-0 by visitors Hamburg SV. Leipzig, which suffered their first home loss of the season, is on 42 with Borussia Dortmund dropping to fourth after its shock 2-1 loss to bottom-placed Darmstadt 98. Dortmund is on 34 points with Eintracht Frankfurt in third on 35.
