Barcelona, Apr 23 (EFE).– Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez scored four goals for the second time this week as FC Barcelona routed Sporting Gijon 6-0 Saturday at Camp Nou.

With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both winning earlier in the day, Barça was fully aware that anything short of a victory would leave it in third place and with little hope of recovering the top spot over the final three weeks of the season.

Even so, the hosts’ intensity was somewhat lacking early on and that almost proved costly, particularly late in the first half when a counter-attack by Sporting nearly led to a penalty being called on defender Gerard Pique for a handball.

But none was called as Barcelona, which had opened the scoring in the 12th minute on a header into the back of the net by super-striker Lionel Messi, dodged a bullet that could have tied the game at 1-1.

The second half was dominated by Suarez, who scored on a cross by Andres Iniesta in the 63rd minute and then added three more goals, two of them on penalties, over a 25-minute span.

Neymar also scored on a penalty after a questionable foul was called in the 85th minute on Bosnian defender Ognjen Vranjes, who was also sent off for two bookings.

Suarez, who scored four times in Barcelona’s 8-0 drubbing of Deportivo La Coruña on Wednesday, is now the top scorer in La Liga with 34 goals, three ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

With the win, Barça is once again tied on points with Atletico Madrid at 82. The Catalans, however, hold the tiebreaker against the Colchoneros – who edged Malaga 1-0 on Saturday – based on their head-to-head record.

Real Madrid, which rallied to defeat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on Saturday, is in third place with 81 points. EFE

With this victory by Barça, sportsbooks in Costa Rica are preparing to wrap up the betting season for the Spanish League.

According to leading Pay-Per-Head provider IDSca.com, which is based in Costa Rica, Barcelona fans became concerned a few weeks ago after consecutive defeats.

Wagers against Barça winning the title stacked up as Real Madrid and Atletico got closer with victories; however, the odds are once again in favor of Barcelona at 1/3 outright, followed by Atletico with 21/4,