Barcelona: Barcelona beat Zaragoza 1-0 on a first-half goal by Seydou Keita to provisionally move 10 points clear of second-place Real Madrid in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Keita scored what proved to be the winner for the defending champions two minutes before halftime, tapping in a pass from Lionel Messi from close range.
The Catalan side could have easily won by a more comfortable margin but Zaragoza goalkeeper Antonio Doblas made a number of excellent saves in the first half to keep his team close.
With its fourth straight win, Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak to 25 league matches, one shy of the club record set in 1973-74.
"The team dominated and had the ball," said Barcelona playmaker Xavi Hernandez. "We played against a team that practically did not want to attack, and that makes it tough."
Elsewhere, Pablo Hernandez scored twice to rally Valencia to a 2-1 win at Mallorca and Atletico Madrid moved into Europa League positions through its 3-1 win over Villarreal.
Coach Pep Guardiola was on the sideline after doubts that severe back pain would force him to miss the match. David Villa and Andres Iniesta joined him with their Champions League last-16 return leg game against Arsenal looming on Tuesday.
Zaragoza's only chance in the first half came in the eighth minute when Nicolas Bertolo used his pace to get by Gabi Milito — starting for the injured Carles Puyol — but Gerard Pique recovered to cut off his progress.
Otherwise, the hosts were in control, winning 77 per cent of possession in the first half and pressing Zaragoza into its own area.
Doblas blocked long strikes by Pedro Rodriguez, Xavi and Javier Mascherano and Keita had a goal waived off for offside in the 29th before Messi manufactured Barcelona's opener.
The Argentina star dribbled by two defenders to the end line before crossing back to Keita for his league-best 15th assist. Messi has 21 assists overall in this campaign to go with his 43 goals in 39 games.
"Doblas was great," said Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova. "We played a long time with a 1-0 lead and the risk that they could draw level on any given action."
Both sides had scoring chances after the re-start.
Bertolo fired wide in the 51st after cutting back against Pique, who, in turn, had a shot cleared off the line by Zaragoza's Ander Herrera six minutes later.
Barcelona goalie Victor Valdes — back after missing three games with an injury — bettered striker Florent Sinama Pongolle in a one-on-one situation in the 62nd.
"The important thing is that we won," said Mascherano. "We maintain our advantage and depend only on ourselves."
Zaragoza has lost six straight to Barcelona and remained two points above the drop.
Real Madrid visits Racing Santander on Sunday without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and having won only one of its last four away games.
At Iberostar stadium, Ivan Ramis got Mallorca's 30th-minute opener from the penalty spot after Valencia defender Ricardo Costa fouled Pierre Webo.
Hernandez equalised three minutes later with a volley from the edge of the area and he fired home a pass from Jonas Goncalves in the 56th to give Valencia the win.
Valencia's fifth victory in its last six away games lifted it four points clear of fourth-place Villarreal.
In Madrid, Jose Antonio Reyes opened the scoring for Atletico in the fifth with an excellent strike from outside the area.
Villarreal's Giuseppe Rossi equalised in the 34th with a well-struck free kick for his 14th goal in the league and 23rd in all competitions.
Sergio Aguero grabbed the lead back for Atletico when he chipped goalkeeper Diego Lopez in the 68th and Diego Forlan ended his seven-game scoring drought four minutes later to seal the win.
With only its second win in eight games, Atletico jumped into sixth place, even on points with Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, which face one another on Sunday.
Also, it's Malaga vs Osasuna, Sporting Gijon vs Getafe, Levante vs Espanyol, and Hercules vs Almeria.
Real Sociedad is at Deportivo La Coruna to close round 27.
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