Sevilla FC 0-3 Barcelona
Lionel Messi struck two late goals as Barcelona brushed aside Sevilla 3-0 to move six points clear at the top of the Primera Liga.
Samuel Eto'o gave the Catalans the lead after 20 minutes and Messi sealed the points with a fine solo effort late on.
And the Argentina forward scored again at the death after Sevilla had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Luis Fabiano.
Barca had seen fierce rivals Real Madrid lose 3-1 at Getafe earlier on and sensed a great opportunity to move further clear at the top of the table.
But they were up against a Sevilla side with aspirations of breaking into the top four.
Sevilla genuinely believed they could get a result from this game and matched the Catalans early on.
Luis Fabiano shot over the bar from distance after 10 minutes as the match began to liven up.
Barcelona took a while to find their rhythm, but soon showed why they had won nine league games in a row prior to last weekend's disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Getafe.
Messi shot just wide after 16 minutes as Barcelona signalled their intent.
Four minutes later they went ahead and Messi, inevitably, was involved.
The Argentinian lost possession on the edge of the Sevilla area, but the rebound fell kindly to Eto'o, who clinically smashed the ball past the helpless Andres Palop and into the top right-hand corner.
The goal had an element of fortune, but Eto'o took his chance superbly to set Barca on their way and claim his 14th league strike of the season in only the 13th round of Primera Liga matches.
Sevilla almost hit back four minutes later, but Luis Fabiano dragged his shot just wide.
At the other end, Palop did well to deny Eto'o as Barca threatened to double their lead.
But Sevilla looked the better side in the remainder of the first half and came close through both Enzo Maresca and Frederic Kanoute in the build up to the break.
And the latter really should have equalised when he was presented with a glorious opportunity three minutes before the interval.
Kanoute was left alone in the box as Barca got their offside trap all wrong following a Sevilla free-kick, but the former Spurs striker lifted the ball onto the crossbar with only Valdes to beat.
Barcelona were the better side in the second half and missed several good chances to add to their tally.
Thierry Henry was guilty of squandering several good openings, while Dani Alves was also twice denied by a busy Palop.
But Barcelona went two up after 78 minutes, when Messi headed down a long pass before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed drive past Palop.
It was a moment of brilliance and from then on there was no way back for Sevilla.
Luis Fabiano was sent off for an elbow on Sergio Busquets as the home side fell apart in the last few minutes.
Eto'o and Messi missed good chances in the closing stages, but the Argentinian did add another goal in injury time, when he ran onto Aleksander Hleb's pass, rounded Palop and slotted into the empty net.
Barcelona are now six points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, but Villarreal could close to within four points of the Catalans with a win at Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.
Sevilla will stay fifth, whatever happens on Sunday.
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