Barcelona created some space between them and the other title contenders after a convincing victory away to Recreativo de Huelva to themselves in the driving seat in the La Liga title race.

After last weekend's thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Real Madrid, Barcelona put in a mesmerizing first-half performance that saw them race into a 3 goal first half lead.

After only three minutes, Samuel Eto'o fired in a brilliant 35 yard shot which swerved away from López Vallejo at the last second to give Barça a very early lead at the Nuevo Colombino.

Recreativo had their chances to draw level. 23 minutes into the game, Barber miss hit from point blank range. But with Barcelona back to their fluent best it was not long before the home side were made to pay. Lionel Messi was the provider on 40 minutes, setting up Zambrotta who chipped in his first for the club, before Eto'o knocked in his second of the night at the far post two minutes later from a wonderful cross from the other fullback, Sylvinho.

With Barça comfortably leading, they naturally took their foot of the gas but they still had one more goal in them, Lionel Messi picking up the ball on the edge of his area, beat 3 defenders before dispatching his shot past Vallejo four minutes from time. That was Messi's seventh goal of the season, his fourth in two games.

After the game, coach Frank Rijkaard, expressed his happiness with the victory, but lamented the below-par second half performance. "We didn’t play that well as a team, although both Deco and Iniesta had great games. We scored at the right times and played with a combination of pressure and patience that made sure that we didn’t jeopardise the result at any time."

"I leave here happy with the result but not with the way the team played. Recreativo played well back into their own half which eased our way forward”, added Rijkaard, ending on a positive note. “Winning away after four months is a real bonus and something we need to build on."