Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo starred for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively as the two Spanish giants warmed up for the upcoming "El Clasico" in style.
Messi was the chief tormentor of his opponents yet again, scoring four goals for Barcelona in a 5-1 win over Osasuna, while Ronaldo netted a hat-trick against Getafe, with Real winning 4-0.
Barcelona, who suffered their first league defeat of the season last week against Real Sociedad, however, increased their lead at the top of the table to 11 points after second-placed Atletico Madrid crashed 3-0 to Athletic Bilbao, without their talisman Radamel Falcao.
Real remain 15 points behind archrivals Barcelona, who they face in the Copa Del Rey semifinals later this week, but closed into within four points of Atletico.
Messi got things rolling in the 11th minute against Osasuna at the Camp Nou, latching onto a through ball from Xavi before coolly dispatching the ball into the back of the net.
Osasuna got a shock equalizer through Raoul Loe in the 24th minute, before things went horribly wrong for the away side, with Alejandro Arribas getting his marching orders for a second yellow card three minutes later, for a handball inside the penalty box.
Barcelona took full advantage, with Messi converting the spotkick, before adding two more in the second half, with Pedro scoring Barca's third goal in the game.
Messi created another record with his four-goal haul, becoming the first man to score in 11 straight Spanish league games, while also surpassing 200 goals in La Liga. The Argentine has now scored a staggering 33 goals in 21 matches, and looks on course for another record-breaking season.
"When you're with him (Messi) every day the point comes when these things seem normal," Barcelona assistant manager Jordi Roura told reporters. "But when you stop and reflect on what has been done you simply bring your hands to your head. It seems like he has no limits.
Earlier, Real Madrid also battered their opponents thanks to three goals from Ronaldo, who, with his first, also completed 300 club goals in his career.
Sergio Ramos opened the scoring in the second half, before Ronaldo struck thrice in the space of ten minutes to put the game beyond Getafe's reach.
"(It's) good to reach this mark," Ronaldo said. "I'm happy about it, but my job is to keep doing what I've been doing and do my best for this club. I want to beat my own record, be better than last year and I constantly try to give my all."
Results: Celta Vigo 1-1 Real Sociedad; Deportivo 2-3 Valencia; Levante 2-1 Real Valladolid; Real Zaragoza 0-0 Espanyol; Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Atletico Madrid; Barcelona 5-1 Osasuna; Rayo Vallecano 3-0 Real Betis; Real Mallorca 2-3 Malaga; Real Madrid 4-0 Getafe.
