BARCELONA, Spain — With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in unstoppable form, Barcelona didn’t need much help to stay on course for another Spanish league title.
But it got an unexpected boost on Saturday when Diego Costa was sent off for insulting the referee with more than an hour to play in Atletico Madrid’s last realistic chance to pressure Barcelona.
Suarez and Messi finally broke down the undermanned Atletico and scored two late goals to earn a 2-0 victory and increase Barcelona’s lead over second-placed Atletico to 11 points with seven rounds remaining.
In clearing the path to what would be Barcelona’s 26th league title, Messi reached a new personal milestone with a competition record 335th victory, overtaking Iker Casillas on 334 wins.
Costa was sent off in the 28th minute for insulting referee Gil Manzano for not calling a foul after Barcelona’s Jordi Alba tackled the striker. Costa rushed in close to Manzano, who responded by whipping out a red card.
A livid Costa was kept in check by his teammates, before rival defender Gerard Pique put his arm around him and guided him off the pitch.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone complained that other players weren’t also penalized for using similar language on the field but said he understood the referee’s decision on Costa.
"If the referee interpreted that there was an insult, then he was correct in sending him off," Simeone said.
Barcelona, however, had a difficult time making good on its extra man.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak kept Atletico in the match as long as he could even as Messi started to find holes in Atletico’s defence.
Atletico still mustered one late push forward but couldn’t break through, including with a header by Rodrigo Hernandez and Alvaro Morata’s blocked effort.
Suarez finally beat Oblak with a curling shot from outside the area that went in off the post in the 85th minute. Messi capped the win on the break with a demoralized Atletico trying to answer Suarez’s goal.
"We know that that we have taken not one, but two steps (toward the title)," Suarez said.
Messi and Suarez have fueled Barcelona’s quest to defend its league title all season long. Messi leads the competition with 33 goals, followed by Suarez with 20. Both also scored late goals on Tuesday to salvage a 4-4 draw at Villarreal.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched the match in person, before the Spanish club visits Old Trafford on Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Benzema scores twice as Real Madrid recovers to beat Eibar
Karim Benzema saved Real Madrid from another embarrassing slip this season, scoring twice as his team recovered from a poor first half to beat Eibar 2-1 on Saturday.
Even so, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane criticized the poor play of his team in the first half, when many fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium jeered their sloppy performance.
"We don’t like being jeered, but our supporters come to see their team play well," Zidane said. "Our fans know that the season is over. The only thing left is to try and finish in second place (in the league)."
Benzema cancelled out an opening goal by Eibar’s Marc Cardona before grabbing the winner in the 81st minute.
Benzema has been a rare bright spot for Madrid this campaign, which saw it eliminated from both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey and out of contention in the Spanish league with three months remaining. He has 26 goals in all competitions, including Madrid’s last four goals. He netted a late winner for a 3-2 victory over Huesca last weekend and scored in a 2-1 loss at Valencia on Wednesday.
Madrid was heading toward another defeat after a first half that Eibar dictated, helped by the hosts’ lax defending and passing.
"We can’t look for excuses, but this is not an easy situation," said Zidane, who has coached the last four games since returning to help his former team in crisis.
"The first half was bad … we lacked confidence and I saw my players were not trying to play. We are not going to win anything this season, so playing is complicated."
After threatening with several dangerous crosses, Eibar went ahead five minutes before halftime after a slick buildup that involved four players.
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Jose Angel Valdes exchanged passes with Marc Cucurella before finding Gonzalo Escalante in the area. Escalante then slid a pass through four Madrid defenders to the far post, where Cardona chipped it over sprawling goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Madrid’s fed-up fans jeered their team at several moments in the first half, but most of their frustration was directed at Gareth Bale, who earned whistles for a poor shot, a bad pass and for repeatedly being caught offside.
Eibar lost centre back Ivan Ramis to an apparent leg injury, just before Benzema levelled in the 59th when he headed in a cross by Marco Asensio.
Madrid improved after the goal, and Benzema completed the turnaround when he outjumped his marker to head in a cross by substitute Toni Kroos.
Benzema had three chances to score a third goal, including one that hit the upright.
"The injury to Ivan (Ramis) changed the match," said Eibar coach Jose Mendilibar. "They were able to attack more easily and knew how to take advantage of it."
Madrid remained in third place in la Liga, at 10 points behind leader Barcelona, which hosts second-placed Atletico Madrid later.
