Thierry Henry set the Catalans on their way in the first half before Ronaldinho sealed an easy win with two brilliant free-kicks in the second period.

Madrid were second best on Saturday to a Sevilla side who sealed victory thanks to goals from Seydou Keita and Luis Fabiano.

Villarreal are level on 24 points with Barca after a thrilling 4-3 win at Atletico Madrid.

Goals from Pablo and Simao Sabrosa gave Atletico a 2-0 lead but the Yellow Submarine hit back thanks to efforts from Giuseppe Rossi and Fabricio Fuentes.

The hosts overcame the setback of Maxi Rodriguez missing a penalty to restore their lead through Sergio Aguero only for two goals from Nihat Kahveci - the latter coming in the final minute - to hand the visitors a dramatic triumph.

Espanyol captain Raul Tamudo came off the bench to rescue a late point for his side at Racing Santander.

Mohamed Tchite put Racing in front from the spot early in the second half and the home side appeared certain of the three points when Espanyol forward Ferran Corominas was sent off with 10 minutes remaining.

But Tamudo proved to be Espanyol's saviour once again as he fired home a last-minute penalty to preserve the team's recent good run and keep the Catalans in a European place after 11 rounds of the Primera Liga.

Real Valladolid striker Victor Fernandez left his namesake on the Real Zaragoza bench stunned as the visitors climbed out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-2 win.

The home side went ahead after 14 minutes through Ricardo Oliveira but a double from Victor, who started the game on the bench, and a third from Alvaro Rubio turned the match around.

Diego Milito pulled one back late on but it was to prove nothing more than a consolation for the hosts, whose hopes of breaking into the top six were shattered.

Getafe clinched their first away win of the season against 10-man Osasuna.

With just 10 minutes remaining the match looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw until Michel Laudrup's men struck twice in two minutes.

Pablo Hernandez converted the first from the penalty spot as Cesar Cruchaga saw red for his foul on Ikechukwu Uche, before substitute Esteban Granero bagged his first goal in a Getafe shirt to secure the points.

Goals from Xisco and Andres Guardado handed Deportivo La Coruna a 2-0 win at Real Murcia while Christian Rigano bagged a first-half hat-trick as rock-bottom Levante claimed their first win of the season with a 3-0 demolition of Almeria.

In the late game, two Joseba Etxeberria goals handed Athletic Bilbao their first home win of the season with a 2-0 success against Recreativo Huelva.

Saturday's other game saw Valencia bounce back from their midweek mauling by Real Madrid to win 2-0 at Real Mallorca.

Under interim boss Oscar Hernandez - new coach Ronald Koeman does not take over until Monday - a double from Fernando Morientes was enough to secure the win on the Balearic island.