Sporting Gijon vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Suarez added another as Barcelona increased their lead atop La Liga with a 3-1 victory at Sporting Gijon on Wednesday night.
Holding an extra game in hand following their involvement in last December's FIFA Club World Cup, Barca took full advantage with a win that took them six points ahead of Atletico Madrid and seven clear of Real Madrid.
Messi netted both in the first half, on either side of Carlos Castro's surprising equalizer for Sporting. Suarez then sealed the points with Barca's third goal in the 67th minute.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Lionel Messi
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Messi scored twice in the first half, and both strikes represented milestones.
The first goal, a low drive from distance in the 25th minute, was Messi's 300th in La Liga. He's the first to reach that plateau, and his nearest competitor—Telmo Zarra—is on 251 (though Cristiano Ronaldo is close behind him at 246.)
The second, a powerful, high drive six minutes later, was Barcelona's 10,000th goal all-time. Messi also bagged the club's 9,000th goal six years ago (h/t @BarcaHD).
Still just 28, Messi has already set loads of records and accomplished everything in club football. It's tantalizing to imagine what he'll do in the many years remaining in his career.
Loser: Barcelona Taking Penalties
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No, it's not one specific person who's a loser here but instead a trend. A shocking, stunning, completely unexpected trend.
Barcelona missed yet another penalty in this match, bringing their conversion rate to just eight out of 16 this season in all competitions (h/t OptaJose). That means the Catalans have missed half of their penalty kicks. Half.
Obviously, that's a poor record, and it's all the more surprising precisely because of Barca's brilliance in so many other facets of the game.
One last note before we move on. Yes, Suarez missed the penalty, but, no, we never considered mentioning him as a loser here. Keep reading to find out why.
Winner: Luis Suarez
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Despite seeing his second-half penalty saved, Suarez is a clear winner here for obvious reasons. The Uruguayan set up both of Messi's goals and scored a cracker of his own to seal the points.
The second assist was outstanding. After running onto a chipped pass from Messi, Suarez held off his defender with impressive strength before offering an inviting return pass. Messi obliged with a powerful finish.
It was Suarez's turn to wow onlookers in the 67th minute, when he took possession on the right, turned his marker and curled a beautiful, left-footed shot into the net off the inside of the far post. Ivan Cuellar, who played well on the night for Sporting, had no chance to save it.
The goal was Suarez's 24th this season in La Liga, and he currently leads the race for the Pichichi Trophy over Ronaldo (21). As OptaJose noted (he scored after this tweet was posted), he's the only player in the Spanish top flight with double figures in both goals and assists (10).
Even more impressive: In all competitions, Suarez has registered 40 goals in just 36 games.
Just a friendly reminder that it's February. Opposing defenders should be terrified.
Loser (or Winner?): Sergio Busquets
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Sergio Busquets drew a silly booking late in the second half for dissent. As a consequence, the Barcelona man will miss his side's match at Las Palmas this weekend through suspension.
In normal circumstances, that would definitely make Busquets a loser here. The Spaniard is such an important member of Barca's team that he's a huge loss whenever Barca have to play without him.
However, it might be worth asking whether Busquets intentionally picked up the booking now, rather than during the next game. If he'd been booked against Las Palmas, he would have missed Barcelona's match against Sevilla.
Not to disrespect Las Palmas (fine, maybe a little), but Barca will survive much easier without him in that game as opposed to Sevilla.
Winner? Loser? We're not really sure.
Winner: Luis Enrique
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You might not know it, but Barcelona are actually in the middle of a rather tricky spell.
This past Sunday, manager Luis Enrique's men had to play Celta Vigo, one of only two Liga teams to have beaten the Barca this season. No problem, though, as Barca won 6-1 thanks to a brilliant second-half attacking display.
Three days later, the trip to Gijon (Enrique's hometown, by the way) is out of the way with another win in hand. Now Barcelona sit six points clear atop the table with trips to Las Palmas (in La Liga) and Arsenal (in the UEFA Champions League) coming up.
The club-record unbeaten run is up to 31 games, and Enrique's team looks fully capable of winning the treble for the second time in as many seasons.
