A roundup of Saturday’s action in Spain and Italy’s top flights…
[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s La Liga coverage ]
Barcelona 5-0 Las Palmas
The visitors never stood a chance on Saturday, and Barcelona showed once again just how dangerous they can be when firing on all cylinders. The Blaugrana saw goals from four different goalscorers pace Luis Enrique’s side, including a brace from Luis Suarez.
Despite only going into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, Barcelona immediately expanded its advantage to 4-0 in the second stanza after finding the back of the net three times in a span of seven minutes. Lionel Messi, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal all scored for Barca, who now sit two points behind league leaders Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Betis
Nicolas Gaitan scored the game’s lone goal as Atletico solidified its spot in the top four against Betis. The visitors managed twice as many shots on target (6), however, it wasn’t enough for Betis to break past goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya. Diego Simeone’s Atleti are six points behind Real at the top of La Liga, while Real Betis currently sits 14th on 21 points.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Leganes 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
Deportivo La Coruna 0-0 Villareal
Sunday’s La Liga schedule
Valencia vs. Espanyol (6 a.m. ET)
Celta Vigo vs. Alaves (10:15 a.m. ET)
Granada vs. Osasuna (12:30 a.m. ET)
Sporting Gijon vs. Eibar (12:30 a.m. ET)
Sevilla vs. Real Madrid (2:45 p.m. ET)
Inter Milan 3-1 Chievo Verona
The hosts needed a strong second half performance to mount a comeback and Inter managed to get just that on Saturday. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half by way of a Sergio Pellissier finish, Inter stormed back after the break on three separate occasions. Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic and Eder all scored inside of the final 21 minutes to move the Milan side into seventh place. Stefano Pioli’s side currently sits 13 points behind league leaders Juventus.
Crotone 0-1 Bologna
Crotone remains at the bottom of Italy’s top flight courtesy of Blerim Dzemaili’s second-half strike. Bologna moved up to 14th in the table on 23 points while Crotone sits on nine points through 19 Serie A matches. Bologna has now won four of the last five meetings against Crotone in all competitions.
Sunday’s Serie A schedule
Cagliari vs. Genoa (6:30 a.m. ET)
Lazio vs. Atalanta (9 a.m. ET)
Napoli vs. Pescara (9 a.m. ET)
Sampdoria vs. Empoli (9 a.m. ET)
Sassuolo vs. Palermo (9 a.m. ET)
Udinese vs. Roma (9 a.m. ET)
Fiorentina vs. Juventus (2:45 p.m. ET)