Barcelona kept pace with Real Madrid at the top of la liga as luis Suarez and Neymar once again compensated for the absence of lionel Messi with a goal apiece in a 2-0 win at Getafe.
Madrid were comfortable 3-1 winners over las Palmas thanks to goals from Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez on Saturday.
Neymar and Suarez have now combined for Barca’s last 14 league goals since Messi went down with knee ligament damage over a month ago.
However, it was Sergi Roberto who shone brightest for Barca as his stunning backheel assist freed Suarez for the opener before also crossing for Neymar to volley home the second to cap off a rapid counter-attack.
“I think we played a very intelligent game,” Suarez told Canal Plus. “We controlled the ball during the whole game and tried to find the space we could.”
On-loan Celtic striker Stefan Scepovic had Getafe’s best opportunity of the game 12 minutes in, but he scuffed his shot wide with just Claudio Bravo to beat.
Barca’s dominance in possession was rewarded with a brilliantly crafted opening goal as Roberto flicked Neymar’s cross perfectly into Suarez’s path and the Uruguayan scored his 300th career goal for club and country.
Roberto was at heart of the second goal just before hour mark too as Bravo collected a corner and bowled the ball out for the midfielder, who carried it forward before picking out Neymar and the Brazilian fired a volley in at the near post.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid also enjoyed an easy afternoon despite missing a host of star names against la liga newcomers las Palmas.
Real were without Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema through injury as coach Rafael Benitez preferred not to risk any of his stars ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s visit in the Champions league on Tuesday.
However, they suffered another injury scare as luka Modric was replaced at half-time with a hip problem putting his participation in midweek in doubt.
The Canary Islanders were making their first visit to Santiago Bernabeu in 13 years, but couldn’t have gotten off to a worst start as Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid 2-0 up inside 15 minutes.
Hernan’s header briefly gave the visitors hope seven minutes before half-time, yet Madrid restored their two-goal advantage just five minutes later through Jese Rodriguez’s fine finish.
“We played very well again in the first-half. We started the game sensationally well and then maybe with the advantage our tempo dropped in the second-half,” said Madrid boss Rafael Benitez.
“But we controlled the game in the second-half thanks to our good play in the first.”
Kone scores hat trick
lIVERPOOl: Arouna Kone grabbed a hat trick as Everton went on a second-half goal frenzy to beat Sunderland 6-2 for its biggest Premier league win in eight years on Sunday.
Sunderland had pulled level at 2-2 by the 50th minute but Sebastian Coates’ own goal put Everton back on the path to ending a three-game winless run in league.
Romelu lukaku netted Everton’s fourth before Kone completed his treble, with two goals adding to his first-half strike. The opener for eighth-place Everton was provided in the 19th minute by Gerard Deulofeu.
Defoe’s volley in first-half added time was soon followed by Fletcher’s close-range header to level the score.
In a late kick-off game between Southampton and AFC Bournemouth, Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle helped Saints to win 2-0.