Lionel Messi moved ahead of rival Cristiano Ronaldo with his 31st and 32nd Spanish league goals of the season as Barcelona won 2-0 at Eibar on Saturday to stay atop the standings. Messi earned and converted a penalty in the 31st minute before netting with a header in the 55th, giving him two more league goals than Ronaldo as the pair vies to finish the season as the competition's top scorer. Barcelona increased its advantage over Ronaldo's Real Madrid to four points before it hosts Levante on Sunday. The two powerhouses are set to meet next weekend at Camp Nou. But first Barcelona faces Manchester City on Wednesday, when the Catalan club will look to make good on its 2-1 first-leg win in their Champions League round-of-16 tie. While Barcelona had little trouble handing the promoted Basque minnow its eighthy straight defeat, Atletico Madrid's dwindling hopes to defend the title took another blow after a 0-0 draw at Espanyol. Ronaldo once seemed ready to run away with the league's individual scoring title after leading Messi 25-13 through 15 rounds. But Messi has scored 19 goals in 12 league matches since then to move two ahead of Ronaldo. Overall, Messi took his tally to 43 goals in 39 games this campaign, including five in his last two matches. With a crucial week ahead, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique rested Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba and Jeremy Mathieu. The team kept clicking with little-used Sergi Roberto, Martin Montoya and Marc Bartra starting. Eibar hung on until Neymar started a move that culminated in Luis Suarez using a deft touch to set up Messi, whose goal-bound shot hit defender Borja Ekiza in the arm. Messi stepped up and drove the resulting spot kick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez to put Barcelona in front for good. Eibar was fortunate not to concede again before halftime, and heavy rain didn't slow Barcelona down after the break. Messi headed in his second goal from a corner when he was left alone near the penalty spot to meet Ivan Rakitic's ball and send it bouncing through the crowded area and beyond Jimenez's grasp. Xavi Hernandez took his Barcelona club record to 750 appearances when he went on for Rakitic in the 62nd minute. Eibar didn't threaten Claudio Bravo's goal until substitute Federico Piovaccari hit the bar with two minutes to play. Once the league's sensation in its first season in the top flight, Eibar has slumped since January and sits three points above the relegation zone. Atletico's recent struggles also continued. Atletico outplayed Espanyol until defender Miranda earned a direct red card for smashing his arm into Abraham Gonzalez's head in first-half injury time. Espanyol controlled possession the rest of the way, but needed goalkeeper Kiko Casilla to deny Raul Garcia and Arda Turan late. Atletico was left in fourth place after Valencia moved ahead into third through its 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Friday. Since thrashing then-leader Madrid 4-0, Diego Simeone's side has just one win in five rounds and now trails Barcelona by nine points. Atletico needs to find its form quickly. On Tuesday, it hosts Bayer Leverkusen aiming to overturn a 1-0 loss in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 series. Gonzalez did not return to the match after Miranda's blow and was substituted at halftime. Espanyol, which remained in eighth, said that Gonzalez was taken to hospital for "head trauma" where the midfielder would undergo tests. Later, Athletic Bilbao visits Celta Vigo while Rayo Vallecano hosts Granada. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125239.aspx
