Barcelona capitalised on Real Madrid’s latest slip-up by beating Sevilla 3-0 at Camp Nou to move eight points clear at the top of LaLiga.
Madrid’s surprise 1-0 loss at Real Mallorca earlier on Sunday opened the door for Barca, who took full advantage with their 10th win in a row this calendar year.
After toiling for the best part of an hour, Jordi Alba deservedly opened the scoring for Xavi’s side and they did not look back.
Gavi doubled the hosts’ lead 12 minutes later after being assisted by Raphinha, who added the third himself to edge Barca ever closer to a first league title in four seasons.
Barca were forced to make a change inside the opening eight minutes after Sergio Busquets injured his ankle and they struggled to find their full flow in the first half.
Yassine Bounou produced a fine stop with his leg to deny Robert Lewandowski and pulled off an even better save soon after to tip the striker’s long-range drive around the post.
Sevilla brought on Bryan Gil and Erik Lamela at half-time, but Barca continued to dominate the contest as Raphinha became the latest to test Bounou, this time from a header.
The breakthrough finally arrived just short of the hour mark as Franck Kessie, brought on for Busquets, brilliantly flicked the ball into the path of Alba to fire across Bounou.
A simple finish for Gavi in the 70th minute after being picked out by Raphinha gave Barca breathing space and the Brazil winger contributed to the scoring before full-time.
Alba played the ball into the middle and Raphinha was there to poke it past Bounou and cap a fine individual and team display.
Barcelona player ratings
GK – Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10 – He really didn’t have anything to do.
RB – Jules Kounde – 6/10 – Enjoyed a physical battle on the flank.
CB – Ronald Araujo – 6/10 – Nearly scored in the first half, and didn’t have a lot to do defensively.
CB – Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – A quiet evening for the ex-Chelsea man.
LB – Jordi Alba – 8/10 – Broke the deadlock after a typically lung-bursting run into the opposition penalty area and then bagged an assist.
CM – Pedri – 7/10 – Another very good display from the youngster.
CM – Sergio Busquets – N/A – Subbed off with an injury inside the opening five minutes.
CM – Frenkie de Jong – 7/10 – Moved into a slightly deeper role after Busquets went off injured, and dictated play from that position.
RW – Raphinha – 9/10 – Quiet in the first half half, but was able to cause much more of a stir when he started to move infield a bit more in the second. Bagged an assist for the second goal after some stunning play, and then bagged a goal of his own.
ST – Robert Lewandowski – 6/10 – Surprisingly didn’t score but his hold-up play was good throughout.
LW – Gavi – 7/10 – Worked extremely hard and got a goal for his efforts.
SUB – Franck Kessie – 7/10 – His brilliant hold-up play led to the opener.
SUB – Ansu Fati – N/A.
SUB – Marcos Alonso – N/A.
SUB – Alejandro Balde – N/A.
SUB – Ferran Torries – N/A.