Raphinha scored one goal and assisted another as Barcelona restored their 11-point lead at the LaLiga summit with a comfortable 4-0 victory over 10-man Real Betis.
Real Madrid cut the gap at the top to eight points with a 4-2 victory over Almeria before Saturday's kick-off at Camp Nou, but Barca reclaimed their significant advantage in style.
Andreas Christensen's early header from Raphinha's delightful cross set the Blaugrana on their way before Robert Lewandowski struck after a mindless first-half dismissal for Betis substitute Edgar Gonzalez.
Raphinha added a third goal soon after, before a Guido Rodriguez own goal sealed a dominant victory for Barca, who introduced 15-year-old debutant Lamine Yamal in the closing stages.
Barca raced into the ascendancy after 14 minutes when Raphinha delivered a pinpoint right-wing cross for Christensen, who headed down past the helpless Rui Silva from close range.
A needless Gonzalez foul on Pedri then saw the Betis defender, brought on for the injured Luiz Felipe, dismissed for two quickfire cautions in the 33rd minute.
Lewandowski capitalised just three minutes later when firing a right-footed strike into the bottom-left corner from Jules Kounde's low cross.
Raphinha inflicted further damage by smashing past the onrushing Silva following Sergio Busquets' disguised throughball, with the goal given after the VAR overturned an on-field offside decision.
Lewandowski rattled the right post when one-on-one with Silva after the break but Betis suffered further punishment when Rodriguez turned Ansu Fati's low cross into his own net.
Xavi took the opportunity to hand teenager Yamal his debut as Barca eased to victory.
What does it mean? Barca get back on track as title awaits
With just one win in their past five games in all competitions, Barca appeared to be stumbling – rather than cruising – to their first title of the post-Lionel Messi era.
Yet Xavi's side got back on track with their eighth win in nine league games against Betis, maintaining their unbeaten record at Camp Nou this season in LaLiga (W13 D3).
Bayern Munich and Union Berlin are the only other two clubs to boast such unbeaten runs across Europe's top five leagues this term, with Barca's home form proving the difference in their quest for the title.
Rampant Raphinha
Raphinha seemed simply unplayable at times as left-back Juan Miranda and the Betis defence were unable to cope with the Brazil winger on the right-hand side.
The Barca attacker's glorious cross for Christensen took his assists tally to 11 for the season, as many as Neymar managed in his first Blaugrana campaign in the 2013-14 term.
Poor Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini must be wondering what he must do to defeat Barca, the Betis coach losing 13 of his past 14 games in LaLiga against the Blaugrana.
Pellegrini will still have European hopes for Betis this term, with his side in sixth – three points clear of the chasing pack and Europa Conference League qualification.
What's next?
Barca host Osasuna on Tuesday, while Betis visit Athletic Bilbao two days later.
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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