Cameroon striker Samuel Eto`o scored twice on Saturday to help FC Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over lowly Malaga and extend its lead in the Spanish league standings to 10 points.
Portugal`s Deco and promising midfielder Andres Iniesta also netted as an impressive Barcelona maintained its perfect record at the Nou Camp and gained its 11th win in 14 games overall this season.
Barcelona has 35 points, while Real Madrid and Valencia have 25 although Madrid has played a game less. Espanyol is fourth with 23.
Even though Barcelona had seven members of its first-team squad out through injury, it proved far superior to a Malaga side which went into the game without a win in nine games.
From the whistle, Barcelona controlled the game and proved just how talented their strikers were at decimating defences.
Ronaldinho making the task look so easy - wrecking defensive structure, he laid on for Eto`o but Malaga keeper Calatayd was quicker out of his box.
Samuel Eto`o did however break the deadlock in the 25th minute for his 11th league goal. The league`s leading marksman Eto`o seized on Deco`s through ball,
darted between two Malaga defenders and sidefooted past goalkeeper Juan Calatayud.
Malaga fell further behind four minutes later when Deco hit the net with a fierce shot from outside the area for his third goal of the season.
Barcelona began the second half completely in charge.
In the third minute of the restart Eto`o stole the ball - again - and chipped through for Iniesta but his strike found only the side netting.
Barcelona, which visits Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, added a third goal in the 72nd minute when Andres Iniesta fired home from close range after receiving the ball from Malaga defender Fernando Sanz`s tackle on Deco.
Eto`o doubled his tally in the final minute, firing a rising shot past Calatayud after Iniesta had played the ball back from the goal line.
The Cameroon striker`s goal tally - 12 for this season - is four more than his nearest rival in the scoring chart, Real Betis` Ricardo Oliveira.
Barcelona have 35 points, while Real Madrid and Valencia have 25 although Madrid have a game in hand.
