Lionel Messi was inspirational, scoring once himself and playing the part of provider for four more as Barcelona moved to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 2-5 win at Athletic Bilbao.
A Messi free-kick and a precise finish into the bottom corner from Luis Suarez put Barca well in control.
After the break, Athletic’s Mikel Rico pulled one back for the home side but then Oscar De Marcos’s own goal and a strike from Neymar put Barcelona 4-1 up.
Aritz Aduriz pulled another one back for Athletic, the fourth goal in seven minutes to make it 4-2 before Barca’s Pedro tapped in a late fifth.
Valencia are up to fourth place after a 1-2 victory at Espanyol. Piatti and Parejo scored for Valencia, Sergio garcia for Espanyol.
Sevilla slip to fifth after a 2-1 defeat at Getafe. Álvaro Vázquez gave Getafe the lead with a 29th minute penalty conversion and it stayed that way until the second half. Krychowia grabbed an equaliser for the visitors but, with ten minutes to go, Pedro León scored what would turn out to be the winner.