MADRID: Step by step, Barcelona are moving closer to the treble.

Days after beating Manchester United to reach the Champions League semi-finals, Barca are closed in on their eighth La Liga title in 11 years after Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba both scored in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Victory means Barca only have to beat Alaves on Tuesday and then Levante next Saturday to be crowned champions at Camp Nou, while three points against Alaves will be enough on its own if Atletico Madrid then lose to Valencia on Wednesday.

Whether in three days or seven, it is now surely only a matter of when rather than if Ernesto Valverde’s side successfully defend their trophy, despite Atletico keeping the gap to nine points after they edged past Eibar 1-0 earlier on Saturday.

“We have to get it out of our heads that we are nine points clear,” Valverde said. “We now have three days until we play again and it will be difficult.”

Wrapping it up early though would allow Barcelona the luxury of focusing completely on the Champions League, which could give them an advantage over their semi-final opponents Liverpool, who seem to be embroiled in a Premier League race to the finish with Manchester City.

“Playing after these Champions League matches are always difficult,” Valverde said. “People may think we are the champions already, but we are not. We have to keep winning our matches until the league title is finally decided.”

Barca will also play in the Copa del Rey final against Valencia on May 25.

Lenglet opened the scoring with a header off a corner just before halftime and Alba netted the winner with a low shot from inside the area in the 64th, just a few minutes after Juanmi equalised from close range for the visitors.

Sociedad, who have won only one of their last nine matches, stayed 10th in the standings.

Earlier, Atletico Madrid had needed Thomas Lemar to come off the bench and find an 85th-minute winner against Eibar as they stretched their lead over Real Madrid to seven points.

Without Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa, who were both suspended, Diego Simeone’s side looked set for a stalemate that would have given Real at least a sniff of second place.

Instead Lemar, on as a substitute, tucked in Koke’s cross to deliver another timely boost to Atleti’s morale.

Celta Vigo took a step toward escaping relegation with a 2-1 home win over Girona.

Sofiane Boufal netted the 69th-minute winner for the hosts, which had opened the scoring with Iago Aspas in the 34th before Portu equalised for Girona in the 48th.

The win moved Celta to 14th place, three points from the relegation zone, while Girona, who have lost five straight in the league, dropped to 15th.

Also Saturday, second-to-last Rayo Vallecano were held 0-0 at home by last-place Huesca. Rayo had a goal disallowed for offside after a video review early in the second half.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019