Barcelona opened a six-point lead at the top of the table following a 3-0 victory at Sevilla.
Messi and Eto'o on target as Fabiano sees red
Barcelona opened a six-point lead at the top of the Primera Liga following a 3-0 victory at Sevilla on Saturday night.
Pep Guardiola's side now enjoy significant breathing space over defending champions Real Madrid, who lost to derby rivals Getafe earlier in the day.
Sevilla's disappointment at the defeat at the Ramon Sanchez stadium increased as striker Luis Fabiano saw red late on.
Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the 20th minute as he took advantage of a deflected pass to curl in with the outside of his boot.
Lionel Messi then extended the lead in the 78th minute before securing a personal brace on the stroke of full-time after rounding Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop.
Prior to Messi's second, Fabiano was shown a straight red card after and off-the-ball clash with a Barca defender.
And the Brazilian will be fortunate to avoid further punishment after members of the Sevilla bench were forced to restrain the forward from confronting the referee's assistant who called the foul.
