MADRID: Normal service was restored at Barcelona as the world, European and Spanish champions ripped apart Deportivo de La Coruna by 8-0 with four goals falling to Luis Suarez.

Suarez also laid on three more assists as Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Marc Bartra and Neymar wrapped up the scoring as the Catalans regained winning form after their worst run of league defeats in 13 years.

A 2-2 draw at Villarreal last month gave way to a nightmare five games that included league losses to Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia, as well as crashing out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid.

Suarez has now scord 50 goals in 50 games for club and country this season while Messi’s second-half finish means he has scored in consecutive games for the first time in five weeks.

The situation at the top of the table remains the same, as Real Madrid and Atletico also registered wins, meaning Barcelona stay ahead of Atletico by virtue of their superior head-to-head record and Real by one point.

Atletico overcame Athletic Bilbao 1-0 as Fernando Torres continued his recent resurgence with his fifth goal in as many matches.

Torres was sent off against Barcelona in the Champions League last month but he has since netted in league games against Espanyol, Granada and now Bilbao, the Spaniard’s 38th-minute header proving the difference at the San Mames Stadium.

Real kicked off later than both their title rivals but Zinedine Zidane’s side showed no signs of feeling the pressure as they strolled to a 3-0 win at home to Villarreal.

Karim Benzema broke the deadlock, heading home after Sergio Asenjo parried Cristiano Ronaldo’s cross, before Lucas Vasquez and Luka Modric added two quick-fire goals in the second half.

Ajax move up

In Holland Ajax returned to the top of the table after winning 2-0 away at Heerenveen.

The victory takes them level on 78 points with champions PSV Eindhoven, each having played 32 of 34 league fixtures but with Ajax leading them by a goal-difference advantage of six.

Visitors Ajax took the lead 12 minutes into the second half when forward Arkadiusz Milik scored from the penalty controversially awarded for handball.

Extending their advantage in the 64th minute, Milik secured all three points with an excellent finish from Mitchell Dijks’ cross.

Feyenoord edged closer to securing third place with a 2-2 draw at Heracles, who are sixth.

Equalising goals from Michiel Kramer and Eljero Elia, after first Robin Gosens and then Wouter Weghorst had given Heracles the lead, leave them on 57 points, significantly behind the top two, and seven points above fourth-placed AZ Alkmaar who still have three games to play. Like Alkmaar, Heracles also have 50 points.

In Italy Paulo Dybala scored twice as Juventus thrashed 10-man Lazio 3-0 to take what should prove to be a decisive nine-point lead into the Serie A run-in.

Only a serious collapse in the last four games will open the door for Napoli to snatch the title from the reigning champions, who opened the scoring in Turin through Mario Mandzukic just before half-time.

Dybala’s double – from a penalty shortly after Lazio lost Patric to a red card, and then at the end of a Sami Khedira pass – put Juve in a position to rubber-stamp the Italian championship with four more points.

Meanwhile in the capital, Francesco Totti emphatically staked his claim for a new contract with a brace from the bench that boosted Roma to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Torino.

The 39-year-old striker has struggled for game time at the Stadio Olimpico this term but a haul of three goals from his last two games could convince the Giallorossi to give him one more year.

Andrea Belotti’s penalty and Josef Martinez’s late goal gave Torino hope they could triumph in the Eternal City, yet Totti’s double and Kostas Manolas’ header earned Roma all three points.

Sebastian De Maio dealt a heavy blow to Inter Milan’s hopes of reaching the Champions League places by firing Genoa to a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Roberto Mancini’s men failed to make the most of a flurry of chances in the first half and were second-best after the break, with centre-back De Maio wounding them at the death.

The result also ensures Genoa will play another season in the top flight – a fifth win from seven games banished memories of a woeful start.

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