DAYS after beating Manchester United to reach the Champions League semifinals, Barcelona turned its focus to the Spanish league and defeated Real Sociedad 2-1 Saturday.

Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba scored a goal in each half at Camp Nou Stadium as Barcelona kept a nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid, which had beaten Eibar earlier in the day. The Catalan club can secure its eighth league title in 11 seasons midweek if it wins at Alaves and Atletico loses to Valencia at home. That would leave Barcelona 12 points ahead of Atletico with only four games left and a better head-to-head record.

Lionel Messi and other regular starters had been rested in the 0-0 draw against last-place Huesca last weekend as coach Ernesto Valverde prioritized the Champions League quarterfinal second leg against United. Barcelona wants to seal the league title as soon as possible so it can fully focus on the European tournament it hasn’t won since 2015. After beating United 4-0 on aggregate, it will face Liverpool in the semifinals in May.

(SD-Agencies)