Barcelona scored early and late at the Camp Nou to secure a 2-0 win over Valencia and extend their lead at the top of the La Liga table.
© Getty Images
The hosts were ahead less than a minute into the match when Lionel Messi burst into the box before squaring the ball to Luis Suarez, leaving the Uruguayan to fire into the bottom corner.
Valencia could have been back on level terms in the opening 10 minutes when Gerard Pique gave away a penalty after fouling Rodrigo, but Daniel Parejo's spot kick was blocked by Claudio Bravo.
The visitors looked dangerous for much of the first half, with Parejo setting up Nicolas Otamendi and Paco Alcacer, while the latter was also denied by the post.
Despite Los Che's dominance, Barcelona came close to adding a second just before the break when a high ball forward fell to Messi on the edge of the box, but he blasted his finish wide from just a couple of yards out.
Valencia made the brighter start to the second half as Rodrigo burst forward before crossing the ball to Alcacer, but Bravo beat the forward to the ball to deny him the shot.
The home side started to see more of the ball as the period progressed and came withing a couple of inches of a second goal when Messi lined up a free kick which hit the crossbar.
Valencia were on the attack again in the final 15 minutes as they sought an elusive equaliser, but Rodrigo's sweeping effort towards the bottom corner was denied by a diving Bravo save.
Pedro made his way down the other end to try to seal the points for the league leaders with just over five minutes to go, but the visitors had numbers back to block his path, while his cross a few minutes later failed to find a teammate.
Messi finally found the back of the net deep into stoppage time when he caught Valencia out with a quick counter-attack, taking the ball all the way on his own before slotting it in and clinching the win for the hosts.
The result moves Barcelona five points clear at the top of the table, while Valencia remain fourth, just three points clear of fifth-placed Sevilla, who have a game in hand.
Sian Cowper
