Barcelona took full advantage of Real Madrid’s thrashing in the capital derby to close the gap at the top of the Spanish Primera Division to just a single point on Sunday night.
Lionel Messi had a hand in all of Barcelona’s goals, scoring one, as they drubbed Athletic Bilbao 5-2, with strikes from Luis Suarez, Neymar, Pedro and an Oscar de Marcos own goal handing the Catalans the spoils.
Mikel Rico and Aritz Aduriz netted for Bilbao, but they never looked capable of springing an upset against Luis Enrique’s side.
The win takes Barcelona up to 53 points and hot on the heels of Los Blancos after they lost 4-0 to third-placed rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
