Spanish La Liga Recap: Barcelona Survive Anoeta Scare As Montella’s Sevilla Continue Wretched Form

Leaders Barcelona survived a major scare in their league game against Real Sociedad after they came from two goals down to beat their hosts 4-2 at the Anoeta thus extending their lead at the top of the table.

Willian Jose and Juanmi scored in the 11th and 34th minute to hand the home side a shock 2-0 lead but Brazilian international midfielder significantly pulled one back for the Nou Camp outfit six minutes from the interval before they stepped it up a notch in the second half.

Luis Suarez scored his 9th and 10th goal in the last eight games to edge Barcelona ahead before a sumptuous freekick from Lionel Messi five minutes from time wrapped up the 4-2 victory for Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Messi netted his 366th goal to set a new record for the most league goals scored in the top five European leagues.

The comeback win was crucial for Barcelona as they extend their lead to nine points over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid in addition to the fact that they are significantly 19 points clear of arch rivals Real Madrid. It was also the first league win at the Anoeta since 2007.

In the pick of the other games, 10-man Alaves climbed out of the relegation zone after Manu Garcia scored in the second half to hand Sevilla a 1-0 defeat.

The loss is the second successive one suffered by Montella and his wards since his reign began and the latest one was achieved against an Alaves side that played the last seven minutes with a man down following the dismissal of Ruben Duarte for two yellow cards.

Week 19 Results (Sunday):

Levante 0-1 Celta Vigo

Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Real Sociedad 4-2 Barcelona

Alaves 1-0 Sevilla

Standings (Top 6) via Points

1. Barcelona 51

2. Atletico Madrid 42

3. Valencia 40

4. Real Madrid 32

5. Villareal 31

6. Sevilla 29