Suarez on fire, Barca crush Real 5-1

Barcelona, October 28 

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-1 in a highly entertaining ‘Clasico’ which surely will signal the end of hapless coach Julen Lopetegui’s spell in charge of Real.

Barca’s Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring in the 11th minute following a slick team move and Suarez doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark by converting a penalty awarded after consultation with the video assistant referee. Real had looked lifeless in the first half but produced a courageous display after the break following a tactical switch from Lopetegui. They deservedly pulled a goal back through Marcelo and came close to grabbing an equaliser as Luka Modric struck the post and Sergio Ramos headed narrowly over.

Barca reasserted their authority and ran riot in the final 15 minutes with two more goals from Suarez, while a header from substitute Arturo Vidal further twisted the knife into Real, who have lost their last three league games and are seven points behind Barca in the standings in the ninth position. — Reuters

Ronaldo’s stunner hands Juventus win  

Milan: Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice, including a thunderous 25-yard drive as Juventus surged seven points clear in Serie A following a battling 2-1 victory. Empoli grabbed a 28th-minute lead as Francesco Caputo curled home following a run by Afriyie Acquah. But Juventus turned to their man in the second half as the Portugal forward equalised from the spot before blasting home a magnificent second to secure a ninth win in 10 Serie A matches for Massimiliano Allegri’s team. After Caputo’s opener, the hosts appealed for a penalty when Miha Zajc’s shot glanced the arm of Leonardo Bonucci as he attempted to charge down the attempt but the referee opted against punishing the Italy defender after reviewing the incident on video. Empoli goalkeeper Ivan Provedel pulled off two spectacular saves in quick succession to thwart Alex Sandro and Miralem Pjanic early in the second half, as Juventus — who beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in midweek — saw their unbeaten record come under threat. Provedel flung himself in front of a firmly-hit effort by Sandro from close range and then sprang acrobatically to his right to touch a Pjanic drive on to the crossbar as Empoli failed to clear after the initial attack. — Reuters