By MARK ELKINGTON
Lionel Messi scored two goals for the seventh consecutive match he has started to help Barcelona strike a potentially decisive blow in the La Liga title race.
The Catalan giants romped to a 4-1 victory at home to second-placed Atletico Madrid to move nine points clear at the top.
Defending champions Real Madrid are 13 points behind after they were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw at home by lowly Espanyol.
Tito Vilanova’s unbeaten leaders fought back after Radamel Falcao gave Atletico a deserved lead with the cutest of finishes.
It was the least the visitors deserved for an impressive start in which they caused problems on the break, an approach which yielded the opener, the Colombian’s 17th of the season.
Five minutes later, Barca were back in the game thanks to a thunderous shot from Adriano, who cut in from the right flank and fired in off the underside of the crossbar.
Atletico were struggling to break out of the area before halftime, and when they failed to clear a corner, Busquets calmly stroked home the second.
After the break, Messi slotted a third into the corner and then pounced on an error at the end for his 25th in La Liga and 90th for club and country in 2012.
Earlier, Espanyol substitute Juan Albin stunned Real with an 88th-minute equaliser as the Barcelona-based side grabbed an unlikely draw at the Bernabeu.
The Uruguayan forward bundled the ball in after Real failed to clear a corner, and whistles rang around the ground as the teams filed off the pitch at the end.
Karim Benzema was left in the stands with an ankle injury, and Cristiano Ronaldo started in the centre-forward position, but for all their possession Real struggled in the first half.
Visiting striker Sergio Garcia, a Euro 2008 winner with Spain, sprinted clear to net past Iker Casillas in the 31st minute.
Luka Modric crashed a shot against the post, but just as the Bernabeu was getting restless Sami Khedira crossed and Ronaldo stuck out a foot to level in the 45th minute.
Ronaldo’s reverse pass picked out Fabio Coentrao’s driving run, and the Portugal defender put Real ahead with his first league goal for the club, soon after the re-start.
A fingertip save and the woodwork prevented a quick third for Real, but Espanyol continued to threaten and Albin made them pay for failing to finish off the job.
