Lionel Messi notched his 35th league goal of the season as an understrength Barcelona strolled to a crushing 6-1 home win against Getafe that put them 12 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
.
Alexis Sanchez and David Villa made the most of a rare place in the starting lineup with goals either side of Messi's strike and Andres Iniesta, Cristian Tello and Gerrard Pique were also on the scoresheet as a rampant Barca racked up a 20th victory in 23 matches to move on to 62 points.
.
Atletico were upset 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano in Sunday's late kickoff and stay on 50 points, four ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who thrashed Sevilla 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.
.
'' We are not going to repeat all the praise we have showered on him (Messi) '', Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said in an interview with Spanish TV broadcaster Canal Plus.
Barcelona did a very good job with the fantastic goals they scored. They did well