Barcelona have moved seven points clear at the summit of La Liga again after coming from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano.
The hosts fell behind after just 25 minutes when Raul De Tomas, on loan from Real Madrid, found space between Nelson Semedo and Samuel Umtiti to blast home from the edge of the box.
Gerard Pique levelled the contest just before half-time, however, rising to meet Lionel Messi’s curling free kick with a firm header.
Just four minutes into the second-half Semedo was brought down inside the box with Messi stepping up to coolly send Stole Dimitrievski the wrong way from the penalty spot.
With Rayo pushing for an equaliser, Luis Suarez calmed any nerves inside the last 10 minutes of the contest, combining with Ivan Rakitic to slot home and seal the three points.
Earlier on Saturday, Atletico Madrid secured a narrow win over Leganes to maintain pace with the defending champions.
