Dani Alves celebrates goal in first half (Photo: AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Lionel Messi's stunning free kick nine minutes from time earned Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon on Sunday evening.

Guardiola's men took all three points from their travels to one of Spain's most hostile stadiums, closing the gap at the top of La Liga to ten points after a signature victory over their Madrid rivals.

Messi dominates in four goal performance against Valencia (Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A sensational four goal performance from Lionel Messi saw Barcelona rally from a goal down to demolish Valencia 5-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday night.

The Catalans turned in their best performance of the season, eviscerating La Liga's third best side with a relentless display of attacking football, outshooting the visitors by an astounding 32-3 margin en route to a resounding home win.

Alexis brace leads Barcelona to victory against Bayer (Photo: JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Image)

Barcelona all but assured their passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-1 road victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.

Guardiola's road warriors have returned, as the Catalans picked up their first away win in four matches, cruising past their German hosts in dominant fashion thanks to a brace from Alexis Sanchez and a clincher from Leo Messi.

Alexis dejected as Barca fall to Osasuna (Photo: Getty Images)

Barcelona suffered their second defeat in 47 matches, as Guardiola's experimental side fell 3-2 in Pamplona, widening the gap to a near insurmountable 10 points between the Catalans and league leaders Real Madrid.

The blaugrana gave it their all, but ultimately failed to complete the comeback after suffering a catastrophic first half, which saw them trailing 2-0 in the opening 20 minutes.

Goals by Xavi and Cesc lead Barcelona into Copa Final (Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Goals from Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory for the blaugrana, propelling the Catalans to their third Copa del Rey final in four years.

The Basques of Bilbao await in a repeat of 2009's final, a game in which Barcelona came from behind to defeat los leones 4-1 and claim the King's Cup.

Tello scores goal in victory over Real Sociedad (Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Lionel Messi scored one and assisted another as Barcelona successfully fought off their San Sebastian rivals in a freezing, sub-zero encounter at the Camp Nou.

Pep Guardiola rolled out the reserves for this one, choosing to rest key starters ahead of his team's Copa del Rey semi final clash with Valencia on Wednesday.

Puyol's header gives Barça 1-1 draw in first leg of Copa (Photo: AP Photo/Paul White)

Barcelona rallied from a goal down to ensure a 1-1 draw against Valencia in the first leg of their semi final showdown in the Copa del Rey.

La Mestalla provided all of the hostility the Catalans could handle, as Valencia came out of the gates in a surging frenzy, mounting unrelenting pressure in the opening minutes trying to force a crack in Barcelona's defensive armor.