LONDON (AP) ― Liverpool secured a return to the Champions League on Sunday.
But there’s a much bigger prize just around the corner.
What was looking like a gripping finale to the Premier League title race is starting to turn into a procession for the Reds after they beat Norwich 3-2 to move five points ahead of Chelsea with three matches remaining.
A first English championship in 24 years is within Liverpool’s grasp after the win at Norwich, which was paced by Raheem Sterling’s two goals and a 30th goal of the season by Luis Suarez.
An 11th straight league win also ensured that the Reds will return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Sterling crashed home a long-range strike in the fourth minute before setting up Suarez in the 11th minute for his 12th goal against Norwich in their past five meetings.
After Gary Hooper cut the deficit in the 54th, Sterling reestablished Liverpool’s two-goal lead after weaving his way through Norwich’s defense before his shot looped over goalkeeper John Ruddy thanks to a deflection.
Lionel Messi ended Barcelona’s run of three straight losses and kept it in the Spanish league title chase by scoring a late free kick to complete a 2-1 comeback win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Messi’s 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the club’s all-time leading scorer had received for his lackluster performances in the team’s recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final.
Barcelona was on its way to another defeat when Aritz Aduriz scored in the 50th, provoking a smattering of white handkerchiefs in the Camp Nou stands, but Pedro Rodriguez equalized when he slotted in Alexis Sanchez’s scuffed strike in the 72nd.
Bayer Leverkusen reclaimed fourth place in the Bundesliga with a 4-1 win at relegation-threatened Nuremberg and Stuttgart eased its relegation fears with a 3-1 win over Schalke on Sunday.
Benfica clinched its 33rd Portuguese league title by beating Olhanense 2-0 after two goals by Lima on Sunday, bringing an end to FC Porto’s three-year run as champion.
