Barcelona bounces back with 8-goal drubbing at Deportivo

Barcelona dismissed any suggestion of a potential crisis at the club with a punctual 8-0 win over Deportivo on Wednesday, its first win in four La Liga matches.

Luis Suarez scored four goals, Lionel Messi netted once, and Neymar finally ended his barren run to give Barcelona its biggest victory of the year.

A loss to Valencia at the Camp Nou last weekend opened up the Spanish title race, with both Atletico and Real Madrid ready to pounce on any more Barcelona errors. On the heels of a Champions League exit as well, the Blaugrana appeared on the ropes after gunning for a second straight treble.

But the famous attacking trident of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar awoke from its slumber at the Estadio Riazor. Suarez in particular had a night to remember, with four goals and three assists against Deportivo. He now has 49 tallies in all competitions this season.

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Messi also scored his 501st goal of his career before defender Marc Bartra, in the place of the suspended Gerard Pique, embarked on an impressive solo run to grab a strike of his own. Neymar then ended a scoreless streak of 579 minutes with a much-needed tap-in.

"We have a wonderful challenge ahead of us," said manager Luis Enrique. "And that challenge is to retain the league title. But there are still four games to go and I'm sure it's not going to be easy."

It could be argued that Deportivo actually deserved more. The host fired 16 shots to Barcelona's 19 on the night, but the visiting side took advantage of the space in front of it and put to rest any doubts over its title credentials.

Barcelon is tied on 79 points with Atletico, which kept the pace through a 1-0 result against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid held its side of the bargain with a 3-0 victory over Villarreal to remain a point behind.