BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona was undone by Real Sociedads potent attack 3-1 to relinquish the provisional Spanish league lead to Real Madrid after it eased to a 3-0 win over Elche on Saturday. Barcelona coach Gerard Martino tried to reinforce his defence by playing with two holding midfielders in Sergio Busquets and Alex Song. But Song scored an own goal in the 32nd minute in the first of several defensive lapses that doomed the defending champions. Lionel Messi equalized in the 36th, but Antoine Griezmann restored the hosts advantage after an error by defender Marc Bartra in the 54th before setting up David Zurutuza in the 59th with Barcelona turned into bystanders. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid trail Madrid by three points. Atletico plays on Sunday. Gareth Bale scored from a blistering long-range strike to help Madrid win its third straight game without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was finishing a three-game suspension. Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 34th. Bale then squashed Elches timid second-half surge with a blast from about 25 metres in the 72nd before substitute Isco Alarcon sealed the victory in the 81st. Bale was having a discreet outing until his superb strike to secure the three points that made Madrid the overnight pacesetters. The Wales winger received the ball unmarked outside the area, sized up the goal, and unleashed a dipping strike that goalkeeper Manuel Herrera barely grazed before it hit the underside of the bar and bounced in. "I said My goodness, what a goal when I saw the ball pass by," Madrid fullback Dani Carvajal said. Madrid will visit Schalke 04 on Wednesday in the Champions League final 16 enjoying an unbeaten streak of 26 games in all competitions. Madrid then plays at crosstown rival Atletico next weekend in a highly anticipated league meeting. Also, Celta Vigo fought back for a 1-1 draw at home against 10-man Getafe to leave the visitors winless in the last 10 rounds. Martino was dismissed by the referee during halftime, and the Barcelona manager had to witness the rare sight of his team being thoroughly dismantled in the second half from the Anoeta Stadium stands as the festive home fans soaked up their big win. The victory moved Sociedad one point out of fourth place and Spains last Champions League spot as the Basque side deployed its best version of its up-tempo attack. Sociedad was unlucky not to widen the final margin when a disheartened Barcelona appeared to tire in the final minutes. Carlos Vela almost capped his outstanding performance in the 81st only for the ball to hit the post. Barcelona went into the match in San Sebastian after affirming its European credentials with a dominant win at Manchester City this week. But this stinging defeat confirmed the change in course in the league title race over the past two months, leaving Madrid in command and waiting to see if Atletico can keep up when it visits Osasuna on Sunday. Martinos move to start Song ended up backfiring when Gorka Elustondo muscled by him to meet Sergio Canales cross, which Elustondo appeared to graze with his head before it hit Song in the chest and landed in the net. Messi combined with Martin Montoya to level when Sergio Busquets craftily let Montoyas pass run between his legs for Messi to rifle it inside the upright of Claudio Bravos goal. It was Messis seventh goal in his last five games in all competitions and his 14th goal in league play despite missing over two months to injury. Sociedad, however, went back ahead to re-ignite its supporters when Bartra headed Bravos goalkick back toward his own area, where Vela was quick to pounce and crossed for Griezmann to volley the ball beyond Victor Valdes and record his 15th league goal. Griezmann then spotted Zurutuza arriving in a second wave, and the midfielder beat Valdes to the cross and knocked the ball in. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .Murray has played 20 matches in five weeks, winning three titles to climb to fifth in the ATP Race.The two-time Grand Slam champion also seeks to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals.Murray said: I always wanted to qualify for it, but also I want to get back into the top 8 players in the world and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. NHL Jerseys Sale . -- Mississippi State was crushed twice by Florida last season, once by 35 points and the other by 25. Discount NHL Jerseys . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena. NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur is staying with the New Jersey Devils. Despite speculation that the Devils were considering dealing the NHLs career leader in wins, the 41-year-old will finish his 20th consecutive season in New Jersey after Wednesdays trade deadline expired. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello refused to say whether any teams either inquired about Brodeurs availability or they offered him to anyone. He also refused to say whether Brodeur had waived his no-trade clause or given him a list of teams to which he would agree to be traded. Lamoriello blamed the recent trade speculation about Brodeur on the media. "Its just a shame that without no substance at different times and no facts that people say things," Lamoriello said. The longtime Devils executive, however, refused to say whether Brodeur was a topic in his trade discussions. "Why are we dealing in hypotheticals, I have no idea," Lamoriello said. "Its not the case. So why we react and try to look for something thats no there and create a story out of nothing." Brodeur did not attend the Devils optional practice Wednesday and he was not immediately available for comment. The NHLs career leader in wins, minutes played, games played, losses and shutouts had fuelled some of the trade talk by saying he was not happy with playing time in recent weeks. Counting his 4-3 win over Detroit on Tuesday, he had started two of the Devils last 10 games, playing a backup to Cory Schneider. Brodeur started the season as the Devils top goaltender but he has taken a back seat to Schneider. Devils coach Pete DeBoer said there isnt a No. 1 goaltender for the Devils. "I think Cory grabbed the ball here prior to the Olympic break and ran with it for a while," DeBoer said. "Prior to that, Marty ran with it for a while. So I think its been there for either of them to grab and they have at different respective times. And thats the case moving forward." Brodeur has a special place in the hearts of Devils fans. They chanted "Mar-tee, Mar-tee" at times during the win over the Red Wings, in case Tuesday was the last game for the man who has been awarded the Vezina Trophy as the leagues top goalie four times and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion while playing his entire career with the Devils.dddddddddddd "I dont think you ever replace Marty," Schneider said after Wednesdays workout. "I am not him. I am not going to be him. I will try to be myself and do my thing and take some of the stuff that I learned from a lot of great people that I played with along the way, him being one of them." Brodeurs contract expires after this season and he could explore free agency next season. In their only move of the day, the Devils acquired forward Tuomo Ruutu from the Carolina Hurricanes for centre Andrei Loktionov and a conditional third-round pick in 2017. "He does the things we like to see, he gets right in your face," Lamoriello said of Ruutu, who has five goals and 11 assists in 57 games this season and waived a no-trade clause to come to New Jersey. The 31-year-old Finn has shown scoring ability. He has 138 goals and 186 assists in 606 career games over 10 seasons with Chicago and Carolina. "Our intention certainly was to try and get a top nine forward with a lot of grit, who competes and who has a habit of playing in big games," Lamoriello said. "Weve played against him enough over the years. We feel good about it." The Hurricanes have agreed to retain some of Ruutus salary, which is $5 million annually. Loktionov had four goals and eight assists in 48 games. He was acquired from Los Angeles in 2013. Lamoriello is confident that Devils can find a way to get back to the playoffs after missing them last season. "I think some of our players are just starting to find themselves after the break, and a couple of others who are ready to achieve," he said. "We are a team. We play like a team. Our coaching staff has done a great job of maximizing that. Once you get in the playoffs, its anyones chance but first you have to get there. Were right there in the mix. We have to win. Ii cant put it any simpler than that." ' ' '