( CNN ) -- La Liga leaders Barcelona returned to winning ways with a 3-0 home victory over Racing Santander on Saturday , extending their advantage over second-placed rivals Real Madrid to seven points . After an impressive unbeaten run in all competitions , Barcelona suffered their first defeat in 28 games midweek , losing 3-1 to Spanish second division side Real Betis in the second leg of their Copa del Rey clash , but going through 6-3 on aggregate . But it had been 28 years since Racing Santander had won a league game at the Camp Nou and having also lost seven of their last 10 away league matches , never looked likely to get the better of the reigning Spanish champions . Pep Guardiola 's team was missing Brazil right back Daniel Alves as well as Jeffren Suarez of Spain -- who has been sidelined for five weeks with muscle tear in his left thigh -- but the absence of the two players did not hamper the Catalan giants . Which football league is the world 's best ? Spain forward Pedro put Barca ahead after just three minutes after a cross from international teammate David Villa . Argentina forward Lionel Messi made it 2-0 after 30 minutes easily putting a penalty past Racing goalkeeper Toño , awarded for a foul by Henrique on Villa . It was the brilliant Messi 's 19th league goal of the season . Ten minutes after play resumed following half-time , Andres Iniesta got his name on the scorecard with Messi , Villa and Pedro combining to get the ball to the Spain midfielder , who duly made it 3-0 . Barca 's emphatic victory was reminiscent of their 3-0 away win over Racing in the opening game of the 2010/11 season . Unable to exact revenge , the Cantabrians are left just four points above the relegation zone . Real Madrid will be hoping to close the gap on Barcelona when they host Real Mallorca on Sunday . Elsewhere in La Liga , Valencia moved above Villarreal into third with a last minute winner from Aritz Aduriz clinching a thrilling 4-3 win over nine-man Malaga . Malaga had Argentine defender Martin Demichelis sent off on 16 minutes for conceding a penalty , which Juan Mata converted , and central defender Helder Rosario red-carded in the 65th minute for dissent . Former Real Madrid star Julio Baptista , signed from Roma in the January transfer window , drew Malaga level at 3-3 with his first goal for the club on 79 minutes , but Aduriz struck in stoppage time to secure a vital three points . Sevilla moved to joint seventh place thanks to a 4-1 win over Levante . Brazil forward Louis Fabiano scored a hat-trick for the southern Spanish side , with French midfielder Julien Escude also finding the back of the net . Spaniard Xisco Munoz scored a consolation goal for Levante , but the Valencia-based team are now second from bottom of the table .
Barcelona defeat Racing Santander 3 - 0 to extend lead at top of La Liga . Goals from Pedro , Lionel ##lo and Andres Iniesta secure victory for the home side . Barcelona seven points clear of rivals Real Madrid who play Valencia on Sunday . In Saturday 's other matches Barcelona beat Levante 4 - 1 and Valencia see Malaga 4 - 3 .