A Lionel Messi-less Barcelona coasted past 10-man Malaga 2-0 to remain comfortably atop La Liga on Saturday.
Messi had earlier pulled out of the squad due to the birth of his third child, Ciro. However, his Barca teammates picked up the slack and easily defeated the bottom-table side at Estadio La Rosaleda.
Luis Suarez put Ernesto Valverde's men in front after 15 minutes when he comfortably nodded home an inch-perfect deep cross from Jordi Alba on the left.
Philippe Coutinho added his goal two minutes before Samu was sent off -- the Brazil international sensationally back-heeling Ousmane Dembele's cut-back and leaving a stretched Roberto no chance in goal.
The win extends Barca's league lead to 11 points over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who will play on Sunday.
Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid continued their upturn in form with a 2-1 win at Eibar.
Following on from the Champions League victory over Paris St Germain, another success for Zinedine Zidane's side means they have won eight of their last nine matches across all competitions.
The La Liga title appears out of reach, however, barring a dramatic collapse from leaders Barcelona.
Eibar created several early chances at the Estadio Municipal de Ipurua but fell behind when Ronaldo latched on to a pass from Luka Modric.
Ivan Ramis headed in a corner to equalise after 50 minutes, but with just six minutes remaining Ronaldo doubled his tally after previously being denied by two brilliant saves from Marko Dmitrovic.
Rodrigo scored both goals as Valencia boosted their top-four hopes with a 2-0 win over Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The visitors went ahead after 25 minutes when Rodrigo was played into the right side of the penalty area by Geoffrey Kondogbia and got ahead of his marker before striking with a low shot.
Sevilla went close to an equaliser before half-time when Pablo Sarabia's header was saved by Neto and Luis Muriel saw a shot come back off the crossbar.
Rodrigo was denied by a fine stop from Sergio Rico, but the Sevilla goalkeeper could do little to prevent the forward doubling Valencia's lead just before the hour.
Frenchman Kondogbia was again the creator, his through-ball splitting the home defence as Rodrigo sprinted clear to slot past Rico.
The win saw Valencia extend their advantage over fifth-placed Sevilla to 11 points, while remaining just one behind Real Madrid.
Levante boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win at Getafe, where they had substitute goalkeeper Jorge Ruiz Ojeda sent off from the bench late on.
Getafe forward Jorge Molina saw an early effort come back off the post before later stabbing a good chance wide.
After Molina had been denied by a fine save from Oier during the second half, the match looked to be heading towards a goalless draw before Levante defender Coke headed in from a corner with 11 minutes left.
Ojeda was shown a red card on 83 minutes after referee Daniel Trujillo Suarez approached the away bench.
The win moves Levante four points clear of 18th-placed Las Palmas, who have a match in hand.