Barcelona continued their winning Liga run with victory over Hercules.
Lionel Messi scored two late goals as Barcelona beat 10-man Hercules to preserve their 100 per cent away record in the Primera Division and move seven points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Pedro gave Barca the lead two minutes before the interval, but the win was still in doubt until Messi's late intervention, with the Argentina forward bagging two goals - after Javier Farinos had been sent off - in the last three minutes to give the Catalans a comfortable victory in the end.
Hercules - following a third straight defeat - are just four points clear of the drop zone.
