La Liga: Neymar scores as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-0 to extend lead
La Liga: Neymar scores as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-0 to extend lead
Sociedad were fortunate to escape the first half with a scoreless draw at Camp Nou, but Neymar broke through in the 51st minute after Lionel Messi's pass was headed on by a defender.

Spain: Neymar scored his 35th goal of the season in Barcelona's 2-0 win at home over Real Sociedad on Saturday, provisionally extending their 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 have won 28 of their 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 semi-final 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.

Elsewhere, Granada beat already-relegated Cordoba 2-0 at home to boost its chances of escaping the drop zone.

Granada rose one point from safety after a second win in as many games under Jose Sandoval their third coach of the season from goals by Diego Mainz and Youssef El Arabi. Cordoba finished with nine men after Inigo Perez and Fede Cartabia earned two bookings each.

Also later, Deportivo La Coruna play Athletic Bilbao.

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