Second-half goals from Lionel Messi and Seydou Keita gave Barcelona a 2-0 victory at Recreativo Huelva on Sunday as the Catalans opened up a three-point lead at the top of the Primera Liga.
Barca struggled to break down the Andalusians in an evenly-matched first half, but Messi popped up to score from an improvised free-kick six minutes after the break and substitute Keita added a late second to seal a ninth straight league win for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Second-placed Villarreal was denied victory at Malaga by Miguel Helder Rosario’s injury-time equalizer at the Estadio La Rosaleda.
Prolific strike pairing Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente were both on target for the visitors, but Malaga hit back on both occasions with Sergio Duda and then Helder Rosario on target.
Sevilla won, 2-0, at Getafe to move level on points with Valencia and Real Madrid.
Luis Fabiano and Tom De Mul grabbed the goals after Esteban Granero had missed a 26th-minute penalty for the hosts.
Diego Forlan scored twice as sixth-placed Atletico Madrid thumped Deportivo La Coruna, 4-1.
Holland defender Johnny Heitinga and Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez were also on target for the Rojiblancos while Filipe netted a late consolation for Depor.
Sergio Garcia starred as Real Betis moved into the top half after beating Racing Santander, 3-1.
The summer signing from Real Zaragoza struck twice and set up Cameroon midfielder Achille Emana for the other as the Andalusians bagged a fourth win in five Primera Liga matches.
Pedro Munitis’ deflected late strike proved nothing but a consolation for Racing, who never looked like taking anything from the game.
Numancia grabbed a dramatic late winner to complete an epic comeback against Espanyol at Montjuic.
Txomin Nagore put the promoted side in front after a quarter of an hour but Espanyol equalized through Moises Hurtado 10 minutes before the break.
Basque striker Asier Goiria then restored the visitors’ advantage seven minutes after the interval, but Dani Jarque headed home from a corner to level the scores once again.
Raul Tamudo grabbed a third from the penalty spot after 71 minutes to put Espanyol ahead for the first time but Numancia failed to give in and equalized through Jose Javier Barkero in the closing stages.
It seemed as if the game would end in a draw, but Carlos Bellvis grabbed the winner in the fourth minute of injury-time to complete a remarkable turnaround for Sergio Kresic’s side.
Alvaro Negredo scored twice in Almeria’s 2-1 defeat of Real Mallorca, while Athletic Bilbao won the battle of the bottom two against Osasuna.
An early goal from Joseba Garmendia set the Basque side on their way in a dominant first-half display, although the outcome of the game remained in the balance until Fernando Llorente finally sealed the victory in the closing stages.
Both Real Madrid and Valencia lost on Saturday.
Madrid went down to Fabian Cannobio’s rocket at Real Valladolid - a result which places more pressure on coach Bernd Schuster - while Los Che lost 3-2 at home to Sporting Gijon.
Luis Moran fired Sporting in front in the 20th minute and David Barral doubled their lead seven minutes after the break.
David Villa pulled one back for Valencia from the spot with his 100th goal for the club in the 69th minute but Diego Castro restored Sporting’s two-goal advantage with a fantastic goal nine minutes from time.
Valencia youngster Juan Mata grabbed his sixth goal of the season in injury time.