Barcelona returned to the summit of La Liga with a routine 3-0 success over Levante on Sunday.
Following Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Osasuna a day earlier, Hansi Flick’s men moved one point ahead of their rivals after easing past the 19th-placed visitors at Camp Nou.
Marc Bernal and Frenkie de Jong put Barca in firm control before the interval, and Fermin Lopez sealed the result with a stunning strike late in the game.
The Catalans were eager to respond after a bruising week that saw them hammered 4-0 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final and then beaten 2-1 by Girona in the league.
Although Flick had demanded defensive improvements, Barcelona still looked vulnerable at times, but Levante’s wasteful finishing spared them any real punishment.
Bernal opened the scoring after neat build-up play involving Joao Cancelo — impressive on a rare start since joining on loan in January — and Eric Garcia.
Robert Lewandowski had a golden opportunity to extend the lead but skewed his effort over after driving the ball into the turf. Cancelo then struck the post with a delivery intended for the Polish striker before producing a similar cross that allowed De Jong to finish and double the advantage before half-time.
Garcia missed a chance to add a third early in the second half, heading wide from Jules Kounde’s inviting cross.
Substitute Lopez eventually made sure of the points, unleashing a superb long-range effort that flew in off the post. He nearly grabbed another late on, only for Levante goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to pull off an excellent reaction save.
