MADRID, Dec 24 (AP): Barcelona has almost ended Real Madrid's defense of its Spanish league title, and there's still half a season to go.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez left Madrid staring at a 14-point deficit after leading Barcelona to a 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Madrid has a game in hand, but the gap already looks too big as La Liga approaches its midway point.
"It is a loss that hurts," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "It is a very, very difficult match for us. But this is not over. It might look like it, but we can never give up."
Barcelona increased its lead to nine points over second-place Atletico Madrid, which lost at Espanyol on Friday. Valencia's 1-0 loss to Villarreal at home on Saturday left it 11 points back.
Suarez struck in the 54th minute and Messi added a penalty 10 minutes later after Madrid's Dani Carvajal received a direct red for stopping a goal-bound header by Paulinho.
Messi also set up substitute Aleix Vidal to round off the commanding win in stoppage time.
Despite the standings, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde and his players aren't excluding a Madrid comeback.
"We took another step forward in the league but I don't rule out Madrid," Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta said. "This is a long-distance race."
But Barcelona is undoubtedly performing like a champion-in-waiting.
It extended its unbeaten streak to 25 matches across all competitions since losing to Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in August, when Barcelona was reeling from the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain.
That all seemed light years away on Saturday with Barcelona resisting an early push by the hosts before imposing its will.
The match was a contrast in tempos: Madrid wanted a frantic, up-and-down shootout, with Cristiano Ronaldo having space to roam, while Barcelona wanted to hold the ball and let Messi pick his moments.
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