Barcelona ended a three-game losing streak at the Camp Nou by beating Real Mallorca 2-1 to return to second place in the table and close in on Champions League qualification.
Xavi’s team looked refreshed and fired up after a week’s rest and should probably have won by a bigger margin such was their dominance.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was denied an early goal by a superb save from Sergio Rico, while Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres both had goals ruled out.
Mallorca’s late effort threatened to make things interesting but Barca never really looked like conceding again and eased to a crucial three points.