adminMADRID. — Neymar hit a hat-trick and Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona enjoyed a resounding 6-0 victory over Granada on Saturday to continue to set the pace at the top of the Spanish La Liga soccer table. A late Raul Jimenez header wrapped up a 4-0 victory for champions Atletico Madrid over Sevilla that left them two points behind in second. Cristiano Ronaldo kept up his rich scoring form with the second goal for Real Madrid in a 2-0 win at Villarreal after Luka Modric had put them ahead. They are fourth on 12 points.
Barca produced the perfect response after they drew 0-0 at Malaga without a shot on target and they now have 16 points from six games. Neymar broke Granada’s stubborn resistance with a scrappy goal midway through the first half when his shot hitJean-Sylvain Babin and looped over keeper Roberto Fernandez. Then in the run-up to half-time Granada’s concentration slipped as Ivan Rakitic headed home a Messi cross and Neymar got his second. Fernandez got to a Messi pass just ahead of Munir El Haddadi but he could only push the ball towards Neymar who knocked it into an open net. — Soccernet.
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