Madrid: Two goals by Lionel Messi helped Barcelona move closer to retaining its Spanish league title with a 4-1 home win against Tenerife on Tuesday.
Barcelona leads the standings on 93 points ahead of second-place Real Madrid on 89, which still has to play its 36th round match away to Mallorca on Wednesday. Valencia is third on 68 points, with Mallorca fourth on 59.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola fielded an attacking lineup with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as striker, Bojan Krkic on the left wing and Messi on the right.
Messi opened the scoring with a right-footed shot after racing onto a ball headed on by Ibrahimovic in the 17th minute. Three minutes later, Messi just missed doubling his tally when his shot shaved the outside of the left post, beyond goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses's reach.
Against the run of play, Roman Martinez scored his fifth goal of the season for Tenerife in the 39th minute with a shot that wrong-footed goalkeeper Victor Valdes after an uncharacteristic, sloppy clearance by Barcelona's skipper, Carles Pujol.
Guardiola played Pedro Rodriguez in the second half as a substitute for Gerard Pique and Bojan restored Barcelona's lead from a Dani Alves pass in the 63rd minute.
Four minutes later, Pedro raced forward having beaten Tenerife's defense with a turn of speed to chip a shot over Aragoneses but just wide of the left post.
Pedro continued his attacking runs and scored his 10th goal of the season when he side-footed the ball home after being set up by Messi in the 77th minute.
Messi skillfully controlled the ball and scored his 31st league goal of the season in injury time.
Elsewhere it was Valencia 3, Xerez 1; Getafe 1, Sporting Gijon 1 and Almeria 4, Villarreal 2 in a match which both sides finished with 10 men.
Two Juan Mata goals drew Valencia closer to a Champions League berth next season although last-place Xerez scored first when left-winger Emiliano Armenteros found the net in the 37th minute.
Mata leveled with a free kick in the 45th minute and then doubled his total when he latched onto a pass from Silva to beat Xerez goalkeeper Renan Brito in the 58th.
Silva extended Valencia's lead in the 67th minute after Mata returned the favor with a decisive pass.
Miguel de las Cuevas scored his seventh goal of the season for Sporting in the 18th minute, while Roberto Soldado leveled in the 47th for Getafe with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
Albert Crusat pounced on a poor penalty area clearance to open the scoring for Almeria in the 15th minute with a left-footed shot.
Villarreal was then reduced to 10 men when defender Mateo Musacchio was dismissed a minute later for a bad tackle on Pablo Piatti. Kalu Uche tapped in Almeria's second in the 30th and doubled his tally 12 minutes later with a left-footed effort past goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Defender Ivan Marcano pulled one back for Villarreal in the 55th minute, while Almeria's Jose Manuel Chico was sent off for a second yellow card in the 64th minute. Ariel Ibagaza headed Villarreal's second in the 66th minute, but Piatti secured the points for Almeria with a strike in injury time.
On Wednesday, it's Atletico Madrid vs. Valladolid; Racing Santander vs. Sevilla; Zaragoza vs. Espanyol; Osasuna vs. Deportivo La Coruna; and Athletic Bilbao vs. Malaga.
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