Barcelona: Barcelona won their 14th straight Spanish league game with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Racing Santander on Saturday.
Pedro Rodriguez and Lionel Messi scored in the first half and Andres Iniesta added another after the restart to send the league leaders seven points clear of Real Madrid ahead of its match against Mallorca on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's team showed no signs of its midweek defeat to Betis in the Copa del Rey, which ended its run of 28 games without a loss, and continued its dominating play that led it to the midway point of the season with a record points haul of 52.
Racing did what it could to withstand Barcelona's barrage, but the Catalan side's trademark combination of short, quick passes was too much for the visitors to handle.
Rodriguez opened the scoring in the second minute chesting a lob pass from Messi across the goal line after the Argentina star combined with David Villa and penetrated the area on the left side.
Messi made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 33rd after Villa was fouled in the area by Racing defender Henrique and Iniesta fired a pass from Rodriguez that took a friendly deflection off a defender before landing in the net to cap the win in the 56th.
Barcelona's league-winning run matched a club record from 2005-06 and was just one victory shy of equaling the league record of consecutive wins set by Real Madrid in 1960-61.
"There are no easy games," Villa said. "But we went ahead in the second minute and that took the pressure off.
"Now we have to see if we are lucky tomorrow and Madrid doesn't win."
Also, Aritz Aduriz scored a late winner to give Valencia a 4-3 victory over a nine-man Malaga and Luis Fabiano scored a hat trick to help give Sevilla a 4-1 win over Levante.
After Barcelona went ahead on Rodriguez's seventh goal in five games and 11th of the season, a first-half rout was prevented by the work of Racing goalkeeper Antonio "Tono" Rodriguez.
Messi still doubled the lead in the 33rd with his 19th goal in the league and 33rd in all competitions. Messi, who had missed a penalty early this week against Betis, calmly rolled the ball into the right corner as Tono dove the other way.
Racing, however, did not roll over and goalkeeper Victor Valdes had to produce some great saves. But Barcelona took control for good through Iniesta's goal. The Spain midfielder is having his most prolific season with seven goals in league play, bettering his previous personal best of six in 2006-07.
For Guardiola, the key to his side's success is possession.
"If we didn't have this style, we would have to run much more and we would tire," he said. "If you made Leo (Messi) run up and down, we would end up worn out."
Racing, which is set to be acquired by Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed, has not won in five weeks and stayed in 14th place, four points clear of the drop.
At Mestalla Stadium, Valencia provisionally claimed third place, one point ahead of Villarreal, through its fifth win in a row, while Malaga remained one point above the relegation zone.
After Jose Rondon's 10th-minute opener, Valencia's Juanma Mata leveled from the penalty spot after Martin Demichelis was sent off for fouling him with only the keeper to beat.
Rondon put Malaga back ahead in the 35th, banging in a ball the defence failed to clear but second-half substitute Roberto Soldado pulled the home side even once again in the 53rd.
Malaga lost another man in the 65th after defender Helder Rosario was sent off for arguing and two minutes later, substitute Ever Banega put Valencia ahead for the first time.
Baptista, in his second game with Malaga, equalised for his new team in the 79th and just when it looked like Malaga would earn a point, Aritz Aduriz appeared to fire in the winner in the 89th.
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini was also sent off in the 81st for arguing.
Earlier, at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Luis Fabiano displayed his full repertoire of attacking skills, scoring with a header, a penalty and through an excellent dipping strike from outside the area.
The Brazil striker opened the scoring with his 28th-minute header and defender Julien Escude doubled Sevilla's advantage in the 39th.
Luis Fabiano added his second from the penalty spot in the 43rd before Levante's Xisco Munoz made it 3-1 early in the second half. But the Brazilian's long blast sealed the victory in the 68th and gave him eight goals for the season.
Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano said the game was an example for his team to follow.
"With our firepower up front, if we defend well, we are guaranteed to win," Manzano said.
Sevilla's third victory in four games left it just one point off Europa League positions.
Levante has lost five straight and risks falling into last place if Almeria beats Osasuna on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, third-place Villarreal hosts Real Sociedad, Sporting Gijon plays Atletico Madrid, Espanyol visits Getafe and Zaragoza receives Deportivo La Coruna. Hercules is at Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
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