Barcelona blitzed Real Sociedad 5-0 on Sunday to remain Spanish leader thanks to a ninth straight victory,after Real Madrid had applied some pressure earlier with a 3-1 win over Zaragoza. David Villa,Andres Iniesta,Lionel Messi and substitute Bojan Krkic were the scorers as Barcelona put on an exhibition of the quick-touch football that guided it to the last two league titles. Messi threaded the ball to Pedro Rodriguez in the ninth minute and Villa was alone inside the box to redirect the centering pass into the roof of goal for his ninth of the season. Iniesta charged into the area in the 33rd,laying off to Pedro who returned it for the Spain midfielder to beat Claudio Bravo with a low shot inside the near post while never breaking stride. Messi started the third goal from just inside the Sociedad half in the 47th,the Argentina forward exchanging several passes with Daniel Alves before slotting home. Messi,who hit the post in the 78th,tied Cristiano Ronaldos goal tally in the 87th with a typically clever run past four defenders inside the area before firing a left-footed shot past Bravo inside the far post. Messi has 27 goals in all competitions,while in the Spanish League they have 17 goals each. The Spanish champions had their way inside Sociedads area with crisp passes into little space that always seemed to find a team mate. Sociedad looked like just another Camp Nou spectator at times as Xavi Hernandez,Messi and Iniesta all shortlisted for the World Player of the Year award orchestrated attack after attack,with Villa and Pedro often denied by Bravo or scrambling defenders. Barcelona,who have outscored opponents 26-0 in their last six games in all competitions,lead with 40 points from 15 games. Bojan scored the last from an individual effort in injury time. Mesut Oezil,Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria scored for Madrid to stay two points behind. Zaragoza had chances early at La Romareda stadium but Madrid took control with Oezils 15th-minute goal as the Germany playmaker capped a quick breakout by tucking a shot from the right under Leo Franco. Franco was left flat-footed in the 44th as Ronaldo dipped his free kick over the defensive wall and into the empty side of goal for the Portugal internationals league-leading 17th goal. Di Maria made it 3-0 three minutes after the break by shooting over Franco as the Zaragoza goalkeeper raced out to try and cut off the Argentina forward after Xabi Alonso had played him clear into the area. Ricardo Carvalho was booked for halting Nicolas Bertolos run inside the area and Gabriel Fernandez stepped up to beat Iker Casillas playing his 400th league game from the penalty spot for Zaragozas goal in the 54th. Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre remained without a victory after four games. Earlier,Fernando Llorente and David Lopez scored second-half goals as Athletic Bilbao rallied to beat Espanyol 2-1 and deny them a chance to move into third place. Espanyol striker Pablo Osvaldo capped a slick buildup in the 33rd minute by firing past Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to put the visitors on course for a first win at the San Mames stadium since 2001.
