Barcelona lead Rayo Vallecano by one goal as the teams head into the half-time break at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.
It was an entertaining first half, full of attacking football from both sides.
Alberto Perea looked certain to open the scoring in the fourth minute when he was found by Saul's cross, but a point-blank save from Victor Valdes kept his team level early on.
Blaugrana responded with Lionel Messi rounding goalkeeper Ruben, but he was denied on by a recovering tackle from Tito.
The defender was on hand once more in the 10th minute, this time to clear Neymar's effort off the line.
A frantic game continued at pace with Messi and Neymar combining to unlock the Rayo defence, but the Brazilian curled his effort wide off the mark.
Martin Montoya was nearly left red-faced two minutes later when he caught Valdes unaware with a back-pass, but the goalkeeper watched in relief as the ball slid past the post.
The opening goal finally came in the 33rd minute, with Messi weaving his way into the box before rolling the ball out wide for Pedro, who produced a quality finish into the bottom corner of the net.
Rayo were given the opportunity to draw level three minutes later when Adriano was penalised for climbing on Roberto Trashorras inside the box.
The midfielder himself stepped up, but Valdes beat a poor kick away for the second time in a week.
Michael Penkman
