LIONEL MESSI, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as Barcelona shrugged off the loss of the injured Sergio Busquets to remain just two points behind La Liga leader Real Madrid with a 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday.

    Sevilla separates the giants of Spanish soccer in second, just a point behind Madrid, after twice coming from behind to edge a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at rock-bottom Osasuna.

    It was Messi’s fifth goal in six games this year.

    Madrid, which has a game in hand, ensured first place by defeating Malaga 2-1 Saturday with two goals by defender Sergio Ramos at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to snap a three-game winless streak. Sevilla beat last-placed Osasuna 4-3 on Sunday.

    “We can always improve, but I feel we are in position to fight for titles,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “We need a good run of victories to get even closer to the top.”

    Denis Suarez, who came off the bench 10 minutes into the match because of a right-ankle injury sustained by midfielder Sergio Busquets, put Barcelona ahead with a low shot from the edge of the area in the 31st minute.

    Messi netted for the fifth straight time in the league with a touch from close range in the 50th. That came after a cross by Luis Suarez, who scored from inside the area in the 68th before Neymar got the fourth goal after a breakaway in injury time.

    Messi and Suarez are the league’s leading scorers with 15 goals each, three more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Messi is having another superb season with the Catalan club, having scored 28 goals in 26 matches. Only once he went two consecutive games without finding the net, dating back to September. He was held scoreless for the first time this year by Real Sociedad in a Copa del Rey match last week.

    “Their players up front will wear you down,” Eibar midfielder Pedro Leon said. “They will score at your first mistake.”

    Eibar, which has won only once in the last six rounds, had a goal disallowed for offside in the 53rd, with the score at 2-0. It is 10th in the 20-team standings.

    Sevilla salvaged a key victory in a thrilling game against last-placed Osasuna to guarantee the team’s best campaign ever at the halfway point.

    Captain Vicente Iborra scored twice — in addition to his own goal — to help Sevilla win its fifth in a row and reach 42 points.

    Franco Vazquez and Pablo Sarabia also scored for Sevilla, with both goals coming after the 80th minute, to secure the away victory.(SD-Agencies)