It didn’t take long for Barcelona’s offense to regain its scoring touch.
After being held to a disappointing scoreless draw with Galatasaray in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League, Barcelona scored three goals in less than 30 minutes Sunday en route to a comfortable 4-0 win over Osasuna in the Spanish league.
Ferran Torres found the net twice and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Riqui Puig added a goal each to keep the Catalan club in third place. It has the same 51 points as Atletico Madrid but leads on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Barcelona also has a game in hand compared to the defending champions.
Barcelona and Atletico trail second-place Sevilla by five points. League leader Real Madrid, which visits relegation-threatened Mallorca on Monday, is 12 points ahead of Barcelona and Atletico.
Madrid hosts Barcelona next Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Barcelona had scored 14 goals in its last four matches in all competitions before the 0-0 home draw against Galatasaray on Thursday.
“We didn’t do a good job the other day and we know it,” Torres said. “But today the team responded well. When you keep creating chances, the ball will keep going in.”
Torres opened the scoring Sunday by converting a 14th-minute penalty kick and added to the lead seven minutes later from inside the area after a nice through ball by Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele also set up the third goal by Aubameyang in the 27th, making a well-placed cross into the box from the right flank, and the fourth by Puig in the 75th.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, making his 600th appearance with the club, had a goal disallowed for offside in the 55th.
Xavi Hernandez’s team is unbeaten in 10 straight games, since a loss at Athletic Bilbao in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey in January.
“We had a letdown in intensity against Galatasaray and paid for it,” Xavi said. “Today it was different. It was one of our best matches and it gives us more confidence going forward.”
Barcelona women’s team, which clinched its third straight league title earlier in the day, was honored before the match at the Camp Nou Stadium.
SEVILLA HELD
Sevilla was held again in its pursuit of Madrid with a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, and is seven points off the lead.
It was the second consecutive league draw for Sevilla, and sixth in its last eight matches in the competition. Julen Lopetegui’s team extended its unbeaten streak in the league to 14 matches, since a loss at Madrid in November. It hasn’t won in four straight away games, drawing all of them.
Bebe put the hosts ahead early in the second half and Thomas Delaney equalized for Sevilla in the 63rd.
Sevilla had a penalty awarded in the second half but it was reversed by video review. It also had a goal disallowed by VAR early in the first half.
Rayo, sitting in 13th place, hasn’t won in its last nine league matches, with seven losses in that run.
Veteran Colombia striker Radamel Falcao missed its third straight game with Rayo because of an injury.
BETIS REBOUND
Betis ended a five-game winless streak in all competitions with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Athletic.
The home win kept Manuel Pellegrini’s team in fifth place, two points behind Barcelona and Atletico.
Borja Iglesias scored a 20th-minute winner for Betis, which played the final minutes with 10 men as Nabil Fekir was sent off with a straight red card in the 80th.
It was the third loss in five league games for Athletic, which stayed in eighth place and further behind the European qualification places.
SOCIEDAD WIN AGAIN
Martin Zubimendi scored a 70th-minute winner as Real Sociedad beat Basque Country rival Alaves 1-0 at home for its third win in four matches to stay in sixth place and in contention for the European places.
Sociedad was coming off a 4-1 loss at league leader Madrid.
Alaves, winless in four matches, stayed second-to-last, three points from safety.