A Lionel Messi double allowed Barcelona to move four points clear at the top of the La Liga table as Barcelona overcame Eibar in a two goal victory.
The Argentine grabbed his 42nd and 43rd goals of the season in a relatively comfortable evening for the league leaders.
Boss Luis Enrique opted to field a strong starting XI with Luis Suarez and Neymar starting in attack alongside Messi despite the fact his side host Manchester City on Wednesday evening in the last 16 of the Champions League before welcoming second-placed Real Madrid the following Sunday.
He will then be relieved his side came through this potentially tricky contest unscathed, gathering the three points in the process.
It took 29 minutes for Barcelona to break through an Eibar side that had lost their previous seven league encounters and they had to do so from the penalty spot after Messi’s goalbound shot was adjudged to have struck the arm of an opposition player. Messi stepped up to score the subsequent spot-kick.
The score was settled 10 minutes into the second period when an unmarked Messi grabbed his second of the evening as he headed in Ivan Rakitic’s corner.
The win means Barcelona move onto 65 points, four ahead of Real Madrid who host Levante on Sunday.
Eibar remain on 27 points, three above Almeria in the drop zone