MADRID: Barcelona reestablished its three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league after beating Catalan rival Girona 4-1 on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski added to his league-leading tally with two second-half goals.
Lewandowski has scored nine goals in his last nine league games and has 25 goals in total in the competition, three more than Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
“For me the most important thing is what I can do to help the team,” Lewandowski said. “I know that if I score two goals, I’ll be helping my team. As a striker it’s important to have confidence for when the ball comes to me.”
Barcelona went in front with an own-goal by Girona defender Ladislav Krejci in the first half. Ferran Torres added the fourth goal for Barcelona in the final minutes at Montjuic stadium.
On Saturday, Madrid had moved level on points with Barcelona with a 3-2 victory over Leganes at home and third-placed Atletico Madrid dropped nine points off the lead following a 1-1 draw at Espanyol.
It was Barcelona’s sixth win in a row in all competitions, and 11th in its last 12 matches. Hansi Flick’s team is yet to lose in 20 games this year, with its last loss coming against Atletico in December.
“We are in great form at the moment and we are creating a lot of chances when we have the ball. What I take from today is our ability to react after the break,” Flick said. “The great thing about my team is that we always want to score goals and everyone likes to see that.”
Barcelona has scored four or more goals in 20 of its 45 matches in all competitions this season.
“When you score four times it means you played a great match,” Lewandowski said. “We’ve been scoring a lot, and it’s important that when we can’t score early we have been patient and not changing our game plan.”
Flick praised the “special” Poland striker.
“Lewandowski is really important,” Flick said. “I don’t like to pick out individuals but he is special inside the box.”
Arnaut Danjuma scored early in the second half for Girona, which is winless in seven consecutive matches and stayed in 13th place.
Barcelona forward Raphinha stayed on the bench to get some rest following his matches with Brazil in South American World Cup qualifying.
Barcelona visits Atletico in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday. The first match ended 4-4.
Other results
Fifth-placed Villarreal won 2-1 at Getafe to gain ground on fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, which couldn’t manage more than a 0-0 home draw with 14th-placed Osasuna. Villarreal trails Athletic by six points with a game in hand.
Valencia moved to 15th place by beating eighth-placed Mallorca 1-0 with Diego López scoring the winner in the 50th. Valencia has won twice in its last six league matches. It was Mallorca’s first loss after six matches.

PRESTON: Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa inspired a 3-0 win against Preston that sent his side into the FA Cup semifinals for the first time in 10 years on Sunday.

Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four.

Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that made him one of England’s brightest stars prior to his steep decline over the last two years.

Amid concerns over his attitude and off-field behavior, Rashford was deemed expendable by United manager Ruben Amorim, after also clashing with former Old Trafford boss Erik ten Hag.

The 27-year-old hadn’t scored since netting for United against Everton on Dec. 1.

Deployed in the central striker’s role that often seemed to dent his confidence at United, Rashford was too dynamic for second-tier Preston to handle in the latest sign that his career might not be destined to end in disappointment after all.

While struggling United have been mired in turmoil, Rashford has benefited from moving to upwardly mobile Villa.

Emery’s side have enjoyed a memorable run to the Champions League quarterfinals, where they face Paris Saint-Germain in April.

They also have an outside chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Rashford could be part of a memorable climax to the campaign for Villa, who haven’t won the FA Cup since 1957, with their last final ending in defeat against Arsenal in 2015. Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace booked their places in the Wembley semifinals on Saturday. 

Sitting 14th in the Championship, Preston were playing in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1966.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side were unbeaten in their previous 15 home games in all competitions, but the 1889 and 1938 FA Cup winners were no match for ruthless Villa.

Rashford’s free kick forced Preston goalkeeper David Cornell into action before Ezri Konsa’s glancing header whistled just wide from Marco Asensio’s cross.

Stefan Thordarson wasted a golden opportunity to give Preston a shock lead when he poked wide.

Rashford was equally profligate after half time, shooting straight at Cornell from inside the area.

But Villa broke the deadlock in the 58th minute as Rashford timed his run perfectly to meet Lucas Digne’s low cross with a clinical finish from 12 yards.

Morgan Rogers was denied by Cornell moments later as Villa went for the kill.

And it was Rogers who earned Villa’s penalty in the 63rd minute when the England midfielder was tripped by Andrew Hughes.

Rashford stepped up to send Cornell the wrong way with a nerveless spot kick.

Ramsey put the result beyond doubt eight minutes later, surging toward the Preston area and drilling a powerful strike past Cornell for his fourth goal this season.