The hosts needed seven minutes to take the lead after winger Pedro finished off a silky move.

A Daniel Alves cross from the right was met by a superb first-time shot from Thierry Henry that crashed against the crossbar.

The unmarked Pedro then chested the ball and fired into the far corner for his fourth league goal.

Barcelona wasted some decent opportunities to double their advantage and were punished six minutes after the break.

David Fuster, who squandered a golden opportunity to restore parity few minutes earlier, made amends when he converted a cross from Cani at the far post.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic came close to giving Barcelona a precious win with eight minutes remaining but saw his low shot goes just wide of the post.

Defending champions Barca are on top of the table with 40 points, three ahead of arch-rivals Real who could go level on points with them if they beat Osasuna on Sunday.

Watch the match's goals