Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona scored early and late at Camp Nou on Saturday to collect a 2-0 victory over Valencia, keeping the Catalans at the top of the La Liga table.
Luis Suarez got the hosts off the mark in the opening minute when he ran on to a pass from Lionel Messi and slipped a shot into the back of the net with the outside of his right foot.
Valencia spurned a tremendous chance to get back on level terms in the 10th minute as Daniel Parejo failed to convert a penalty, a miss that allowed Barcelona to cruise to all three points.
The match did not end, however, without Messi adding to stunning legacy as the Argentine broke through on goal in stoppage time and, after initially being denied by Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves, slotted home his 400th career Barcelona goal with ease.
The win sees Barcelona improve to 78 points on the season to stay atop Spain's top flight, though Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid kept pace by claiming three points apiece on Saturday.
Atletico picked up a 2-1 victory at Deportivo by way of a first-half brace from Antoine Griezmann to move to 69 points on the season, while Real Madrid received goals from Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo in a 3-1 home victory over Malaga to stay two points back of Barcelona.
Rounding out Saturday's La Liga slate, Athletic Bilbao cruised past Getafe, 4-0, thanks to goals from Ibai Gomez, Markel Susaeta and a double from Aritz Aduriz.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.