Henry opened the scoring a minute after half-time for his first goal since his hugely controversial handball last month that helped France reach the World Cup finals at the expense of the Republic of Ireland.

And it is that handball that could lead to the veteran striker possibly being banned for the start of next summer's World Cup finals after FIFA today announced that their disciplinary committee were looking into the incident.

Henry put that development aside to help Barca further strengthen their grip at the top of the league in their re-arranged fixture against Xerez, with substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic adding a late second for the champions.

The game was initially meant to be played during the 15th round of Primera Division fixtures on the weekend of December 19-20, but due to Barca's commitments in the FIFA Club World Cup this month the game was brought forward.