Barca shakes off Europa shocker with Liga rout

It didn't take long for Barcelona's attack to regain its scoring touch.

After being held to a disappointing scoreless draw with Galatasaray in the first leg of its Europa League last-16 tie, Barca scored three goals in less than 30 minutes Sunday en route to a comfortable 4-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga.

Ferran Torres found the net twice and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Riqui Puig added a goal each to keep the Catalan club in third place. It has the same 51 points as Atletico Madrid but leads on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Barcelona also has a game in hand over the defending champion.

Barcelona and Atletico trail second-place Sevilla by five points. League leader Real Madrid was 12 points in front of Barca and Atletico ahead of its Monday visit to relegation-threatened Mallorca.

Madrid hosts Barca on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the latest edition of El Clasico.

Barcelona had scored 14 goals in its last four matches before Thursday's shock 0-0 home draw against Galatasaray, which sits 14th in the Turkish league.

"We didn't do a good job the other day and we know it," Torres said. "But today the team responded well. When you keep creating chances, the ball will keep going in."

Torres opened the scoring Sunday by converting a 14th-minute penalty and added to the lead seven minutes later from inside the area after a nice through-ball by Ousmane Dembele.

Dembele also set up the third goal by former Arsenal forward Aubameyang in the 27th, making a well-placed cross into the box from the right flank, and the fourth by Puig in the 75th.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, making his 600th appearance with the club, had a goal disallowed for offside in the 55th.

Xavi Hernandez's team is unbeaten in 10 straight games, since a loss at Athletic Bilbao in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey in January.

"We had a letdown in intensity against Galatasaray and paid for it," Xavi said. "Today it was different. It was one of our best matches and it gives us more confidence going forward."

Barcelona women's team, which clinched its third straight league title earlier in the day, was honored before the match at Camp Nou.

Sevilla was held again in its pursuit of Madrid with a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, and is seven points off the lead.

It was the second consecutive league draw for Sevilla, and sixth in its last eight matches in the competition.

Julen Lopetegui's team extended its unbeaten streak in the league to 14 matches, since a loss at Madrid in November. It hasn't won in four straight away games, drawing all of them.

Bebe put the host ahead early in the second half and Thomas Delaney equalized for Sevilla in the 63rd.

Sevilla saw a second-half penalty decision reversed by video review. It also had a goal disallowed by VAR early in the first half.

Rayo, sitting in 13th place, hasn't won in its last nine league matches, with seven losses in that run.

Veteran Colombian striker Radamel Falcao missed his third straight game with Rayo because of an injury.

Real Betis ended a five-game winless streak in all competitions with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Athletic.

Agencies via Xinhua