Barcelona 6-0 Getafe: Hosts open up 11-point La Liga lead

Barcelona produced another awe-inspiring display as they crushed lowly Getafe 6-0 in La Liga on Saturday afternoon to extend their unbeaten run to 37 games.

Lionel Messi scored, set up three for the first time in a La Liga game and could even afford to miss a penalty as Luis Enrique's men opened up an 11-point lead over nearest rivals Atletico Madrid in the title race with just nine games remaining, Real a further four points behind their city neighbours.

Neymar struck twice, while Munir El Haddadi, Arda Turan and an own goal from Juan Rodriguez completed the rout as the reigning European champions warmed up nicely for the visit of Arsenal in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, where they hold a 2-0 first-leg advantage.

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There was bad blood between the two clubs following the fixture at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez when Barca players coated the away dressing room with red paint on Halloween night, but it was Getafe who endured a nightmare opening 45 minutes.

Juan Rodriguez turned home Jordi Alba's left-foot cross for an unfortunate eighth-minute own goal to open up the floodgates.

Lionel Messi then saw his spot-kick saved two minutes later after Neymar was bundled over in the box. Goalkeeper Vicente Guaita dived to his left to deny him. It was Barcelona's eighth miss from the penalty spot in the league this season.

However, that didn't deter the hosts as they swarmed forward in numbers and soon added a second through Munir after 20 minutes.

Andres Iniesta's defence-splitting pass found Messi, who teed up the 20-year-old striker for an easy header.

Neymar then joined in the party just after the half-hour mark with a cool side-foot finish into the far corner from another Messi assist.

The five-time World Player of the Year quickly made up for his penalty miss with a fabulous left-foot curling drive from the edge of the area four minutes before the break.

And six minutes after the interval, Messi found space to slide a delicious pass through the eye of a needle for Neymar, who had time to take a touch before firing home his 20th La Liga goal of the season.

They added a sixth just before the hour mark as Arda Turan scoring for second time in three matches with an unorthodox bicycle kick at the back post and Catalan giants then shut up shop for the remainder of the game.

Victory was the hosts' 13th straight win in the league, while the visitors are plummeting down the table with eight defeats in their last nine games now - leaving them hovering dangerously just over the drop zone.

Watch Barcelona's trip to Villarreal on Sunday, March 20 on Sky Sports 3 HD from 2.55pm