Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Sevilla with a mesmerising attacking display on Wednesday thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Luis Suárez in the space of eight minutes to keep the pressure up on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Barça lead the standings on 69 points although Real Madrid, who have 68 and have played two games fewer, can recover top spot when they visit Leganes later on Wednesday. Sevilla, who had Vitolo sent off for a second booking in the 90th minute, are fourth on 58 points.

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Suárez crashed in an emphatic overhead kick in the 25th minute after a surging run by Messi, then teed up the Argentinian to knock in the second three minutes later.

Messi produced an instinctive volley for the third goal in the 33rd minute, piling more pain on a Sevilla side who had serious title ambitions little more than a month ago but have fallen apart in recent weeks and failed to win any of their past six games in all competitions.

Real Madrid later survived a scare at Léganes, coming through with a 4-2 win thanks to a hat-trick by Álvaro Morata. Zinedine Zidane’s side remain two points ahead of Barça at the top of La Liga with a game in hand. Next for the league leaders is a Madrid derby with Atlético on Saturday.