Late goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a dramatic win over bitter rivals Real Madrid in a tense derby encounter at the Nou Camp tonight.
Madrid - in their first league match under new coach Juande Ramos - frustrated the league leaders for long periods and looked set to snatch a point after Iker Casillas saved Samuel Eto'o's penalty with 20 minutes remaining.
But the Cameroon frontman finally gave the Catalans the lead with seven minutes remaining and Lionel Messi smashed home a second in stoppage time to move Pep Guardiola's side 12 points ahead of their fierce rivals after 15 rounds of the championship.
Eto'o returned from suspension to take his place in the centre of Barcelona's three-man forward line, between Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi.
Sergio Ramos was given the unenviable task of marking the Argentina forward and made his intentions clear when he scythed down the youngster after just two minutes.
The Nou Camp faithful were furious and Ramos was lucky to get away with a yellow card.
Messi did manage to get away from his marker four minutes later and tested Casillas with a fierce right-footed effort, but the Madrid goalkeeper responded with a fine one-handed save.
That sparked a period of Catalan domination, but with Messi shackled by Ramos, Barca were forced to look elsewhere for inspiration.
And it almost came from an unusual source as defensive midfielder Yaya Toure twice dribbled through the heart of the Madrid defence, only to see his shots blocked on both occasions as he bore down on goal.
Barcelona were struggling to impose themselves, though, and the wet conditions appeared to suit the visitors.
As the game wore on, Madrid began to improve and Wesley Sneijder saw his powerful drive tipped over by an alert Victor Valdes after he was set up by fellow Dutchman Roysten Drenthe.
And Ramos' side missed a glorious chance to take the lead after 26 minutes when Raul put through Drenthe, but the unmarked winger saw his low effort well saved by Valdes.
The former Feyenoord man should have scored, but despite his miss, Madrid continued to grow in stature and Gonzalo Higuain volleyed just over the bar a minute later.
At the other end, the visitors continued to resort to negative tactics to stop Messi and Ramos was finally booked for a shocking late tackle on the Argentinian.
Sneijder, who had been doubtful for this game, was then forced off through injury eight minutes before the break.
The Holland midfielder was replaced by youth-team player Miguel Palanca.
With Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mahamadou Diarra, Gabriel Heinze, Ruben De La Red, Pepe and Miguel Torres are out injured and Marcelo missing through suspension, Madrid were down to the bare bones.
But the champions were coping well against the league leaders, despite their horrific injury list, and went in on level terms at the break.
Following a disappointing first half, things livened up again after the interval.
Barca continued to dominate possession, but Madrid were still looking dangerous on the break and Raul glanced a header wide from Guti's corner after 50 minutes.
Eto'o then blasted a volley over the bar as the hosts continued to press for an opening goal.
And the African seemed certain to score when the home side were awarded a penalty after 68 minutes, when Michel Salgado clattered into substitute Sergio Busquets in the area.
However, Eto'o looked nervy as he stepped up to take the kick and saw his effort brilliantly saved by Casillas.
Two minutes later, the Spain goalkeeper denied Eto'o once again with another fantastic stop and picked himself up quickly to save from Messi on the rebound.
The goal was remaining elusive for Barcelona and Madrid almost capitalised with 12 minutes remaining, when Palanca found himself one on one with Valdes.
But the Barca keeper saved the day once again as he stood tall to deny the young striker.
And just when they appeared to be running out of ideas, the home side finally went ahead after 83 minutes.
Captain Carles Puyol headed on from a corner and the ball fell to Eto'o, who poked home somewhat clumsily from close range before Palanca could clear.
The scrappy strike provoked scenes of sheer joy in Europe's biggest stadium as Eto'o ran halfway down the pitch to celebrate with the coaching staff, ball boys and the rest of his team-mates.
Messi wrapped up a deserved Barca victory as he crashed a left-footed shot towards goal and Fabio Cannavaro's despairing lunge only served to help the ball into the net.
The win sees Barca move provisionally eight points clear at the top, while the champions could drop to sixth tomorrow if Atletico Madrid beat Real Betis.
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