体坛英语新闻： Messi and Ronaldo warm up ahead of the Clasico, but Sevilla are second after win in Elche

MADRID, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Matchday 8 in the Spanish BBVA Primera Liga saw Leo Messi set the stage for setting new Spanish scoring record next weekend in what could be considered by Barcelona fans to be the perfect venue.

Saturday night saw the Argentinean take a step closer to becoming the all-time top scorer in the history of the league as he scored the third goal in FC Barcelona's 3-0 win at home to Eibar.

For 59 minutes Eibar had threatened to cause a massive upset as they hung on to a 0-0 and the Basque side would have taken the lead but for missing an open goal and forcing Barca keeper, Claudio Bravo into a one-on-one save

Xavi Hernandez opened the scoring for Barca after good movement off the ball, Neymar scored the second with a right foot volley after 70 minutes and Messi netted a left foot shot two minutes later to score his 250th league goal, one behind the decades old record set by Telmo Zarra.

With the "Clasico" away to Real Madrid next Saturday, could there be a more perfect stage for the little Argentinean, who was also celebrating the 10th anniversary of his debt, to make history?

Next Saturday's game is set to be a battle of the strikers as Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 14th and 15th league goals of the campaign as Real Madrid enjoyed an easy 5-0 win away to Levante.

Javier Hernandez, James Rodriguez and Isco also got their names on the scoresheet in what was a virtual stroll against a side that managed just one effort on target all game.

Sunday morning saw Atletico Madrid get their season back on track after a heavy defeat in Valencia.

Diego Simeone had asked his players for intensity and got that in an efficient display in which goals from Tiago Cardoso and Mario Suarez gave Atletico a 2-0 win at home to a robust Espanyol.

Sevilla leapfrog Valencia into second place in the table after Valencia crashed to a shock 3-0 defeat away to struggling Deportivo la Coruna. Gaya scored an own goal, before Lucas Perez and Toche sealed the win for Deportivo, who climb out of the bottom three.

Sevilla's duo of Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro both hit the target as Unai Emery's side won 2-0 away to Elche to move behind Barca and they could go top next week depending on the result of the "Clasico".

Villarreal also continue climbing the table after two goals from Uche gave them a straightforward 2-0 home win against Almeria.

Athletic Club Bilbao are still struggling after a 1-1 draw at home to Celta Vigo. Athletic produced their best half hour of the season and took the lead when Aritz Aduriz scored a sixth minute penalty, but Celta dominated the second half and fully deserved Nolito's equalizer 17 minutes from the end.

Cordoba remain without a win after losing 2-1 at home to Malaga. Samu and Nordin Amrabat put Malaga 2-0 up before halftime and Nabil Ghilas' 94th minute goal for the home side came too late to make any difference.

Friday night saw Manucho score a last minute goal to give Rayo Vallecano a 1-0 win away to Granada.