Suarez leads Barca stroll

EUROPEAN ROUND-UP

LUIS SUAREZ scored a hat-trick as Spain’s league leaders Barcelona beat Girona 6-1 to extend their unbeaten league run to a club-record 32 games.

Barca found themselves 1-0 down after three minutes when Cristian Portu slid the ball beyond MarcAndre ter Stegen.

But the hosts were back on level terms two minutes later through Suarez and, after Lionel Messi had netted twice, the Uruguayan scored his second in the 44th minute to give them a 4-1 half-time lead. Philippe Coutinho scored his first La Liga goal for Barca in the 66th minute before Suarez completed his hat-trick.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Real Madrid thrashed Alaves 4-0 before giving up the chance for a hat-trick by handing over penalty duties to under-fire team-mate Karim Benzema. Gareth Bale also scored.

In Italy, Juventus’ Serie A clash at home to Atalanta had to be postponed due to snow. Conditions in Turin had been playable an hour before the game was due to start, but blizzards left the pitch covered.

The two sides continued their warm-ups despite the adverse conditions and the game looked set to start as scheduled. But, after the match officials spoke to captains Gianluigi Buffon and Rafael Toloi, the decision was made to postpone.

Meanwhile, former Man City midfielder Samir Nasri is set to be banned for six months because of a drip treatment he took at a Los Angeles clinic in 2016.

Nasri, 30, was on holidays when he took the treatment, which contravened World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Nasri, without a club having left Turkish side Antalyaspor, received treatment from a private medical company, Drip Doctors, in his hotel room. At the time he was on loan from City to Sevilla.