Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-0 at Camp Nou on Sunday night to move eight points clear of fierce rivals Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
Madrid trailed Barcelona by five points heading into the latest round of matches, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Mallorca early in the day.
Playing against struggling Sevilla in the evening game, Barcelona were frustrated in the first half, but took control of the match in the second period.
Goals from Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha sealed an ultimately comprehensive 3-0 win and saw Xavi’s side move eight clear after 20 rounds of matches.
Barça recently beat Madrid in the final of the Supercopa and the two teams will also meet in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey over two legs in March and April.
𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 📊@socios | #TheFansGame | #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/5SzaOLBbvGFebruary 5, 2023
But in LaLiga, the Blaugrana are now very much in charge as Madrid fly out to Morocco for the FIFA Club World Cup in need of a morale boost following this latest setback.