Barcelona have opened up an 11-point lead at the top of La Liga following a thumping 6-0 win over Getafe in Saturday afternoon's clash at Camp Nou.
The result means that Barcelona have stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 37 matches and also moved 15 points clear of third-placed Real Madrid. Getafe, however, remain 16th and still just one point outside of the bottom three with nine games left to play in Spain's top flight.
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Barcelona were missing Javier Mascherano through suspension, which opened up a spot in central defence for Jeremy Mathieu. Neymar returned from a one-game suspension, but Luis Suarez, Dani Alves and Ivan Rakitic were left on the bench with one eye on the Champions League clash with Arsenal next week.
Sergio Busquets, meanwhile, was omitted from the squad amid what is a busy run of matches for the treble-chasing Catalan side.
As for Getafe, head coach Fran Escriba was without Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Vasquez and Juan Cala through suspension, which meant returns for Santiago Vergini, Stefan Scepovic and the skipper Pedro Leon.
Barcelona, as expected, started on the front foot and had the lead in the eighth minute when Juan Rodriguez could only turn a low Jordi Alba cross from the left into the back of his own net.
The home side had the chance to make it 2-0 just three minutes later when Emiliano Velazquez brought Munir El Haddadi to the ground inside the penalty box, but Lionel Messi's spot kick was kept out by the diving Vicente Guaita as Barcelona's penalty struggles continued.
Messi played a key role in his team's second, however, setting up Munir in the 19th minute as the youngster made it six goals in his last six appearances for the first team.
Barcelona should have had another penalty in the 25th minute when Leon took out Neymar inside the box, but the referee was reluctant to point to the spot for a second time as Getafe continued to struggle.
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Luis Enrique's side rattled the crossbar through Gerard Pique in the 31st minute as they came close to a third, but just one minute later, it was indeed 3-0 as Messi found Neymar, who finished into the opposite corner with a flick of his left boot.
Neymar should have had his second five minutes before the break following another outrageous pass from Messi, but the Brazilian, who gave young full-back Emi Buendia nightmares down the left, volleyed wide.
Barcelona did have time to score a fourth before the break, however, when Messi curled one into the bottom corner after being afforded far too much space outside the Getafe box.
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Yoda came out fired up for Getafe and had his team's first shot of the match in the 48th minute, but the Frenchman's effort was always moving wide of Claudio Bravo's post, before Arda Turan passed up a good chance down the other end.
Barcelona had their fifth in the 51st minute, however, when Messi set up Neymar once again and the Brazilian made no mistake from close range - Neymar had his second and Messi made it three assists for the afternoon.
It got worse for Getafe six minutes later when Turan scored Barcelona's sixth with a clever bicycle kick at the far post, and the visitors just about avoided a seventh when Messi missed the far post in the 64th minute.
Moi Gomez had Getafe's first attempt on target in the 68th minute, but the Spaniard's effort was straight at Bravo, before the same player just missed the far post with a driven effort less than two minutes later.
Both managers made alterations in the minutes that followed, and the pace of the game slowed in the latter stages as both teams switched their attention to more pressing matters.
Neymar had two opportunities to complete his hat-trick in the final 10 minutes, but the Brazilian found Guaita difficult to beat on both occasions as the stopper kept the score down to six.
Barcelona will continue their title defence with a trip to top-four hopefuls Villarreal next weekend, while Getafe, who have now lost eight of their last nine in the league, host Eibar on Friday.
Matt Law
