FC Barcelona's Neymar celebrates after scoring against Real Sociedad
during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in
Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 9, 2015
.
Neymar scored his 35th goal of the season in
Barcelona's 2-0 win at home over Real Sociedad on Saturday,
provisionally extending its lead of the Spanish league to five points
.
The victory puts added pressure on second-place
Real Madrid when it hosts fourth-place Valencia later. Sociedad was
fortunate to escape the first half scoreless at Camp Nou, but Neymar
broke through in the 51st minute after Lionel Messi's pass was headed on
by a defender.
Substitute Pedro Rodriguez netted from an acrobatic bicycle kick to
secure the points with five minutes left. Barcelona remained on pace to
dethrone Atletico Madrid as the champion. But the final two rounds are
in doubt after the Spanish federation announced it was suspending all
matches from May 16 in protest at a proposed law regulating the sale of
broadcasting rights.
Neymar took his league tally this season to 22
goals— tied for third most in the competition— as he extended his
scoring streak to six straight matches. Barcelona's 1-0 loss at Sociedad
on Jan. 4 marked the low-point of the Catalan club's season. Since
then, Luis Enrique's team has won 28 of its last 30 games and is in the
running for three trophies — having reached the final of the Copa del
Rey and with one foot in the Champions League final after beating Bayern
Munich 3-0 on Wednesday. Their second-leg semifinal is on Tuesday
.
Fresh off his outstanding two-goal performance
against Bayern, Messi didn't skip a beat with a headed shot that
goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli struggled to tap over his bar in the eighth
minute. Messi then took a turn as playmaker with passes for Neymar and
Gerard Pique that forced two more saves from Rulli before the half-hour
mark
.
Luis Suarez was next to receive a Messi-made pass
that left him in a scoring position, but he opted to head the ball on
for teammates who couldn't reach the ball as it bounced wide. Rulli made
another one-hand stretch to deny Marc Bartra's header two minutes after
halftime
.
But Sociedad's first mistake cost it a goal when
Neymar headed in another Messi pass after centerback Mikel Gonzalez
flicked on to the far post wherethe Brazil striker was all alone. David
Moyes' side managed to stay in the match — albeit without troubling
former teammate Claudio Bravo's net — until Pedro whipped in Barcelona's
second in one of his rare moments to shine in a season he has mostly
spent on the bench.
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