FC Barcelona moved one step closer to regaining the La Liga title last night, securing a valuable three points with a landslide Manita win over relegation-threatened Real Mallorca at the Camp Nou. While the visitors started the match full of enthusiasm, they simply had no answer to the Blaugrana's slick passing play, falling behind on 20 minutes as Cesc Fabregas kept his composure to put the hosts ahead. Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead less than two minutes later, pouncing on the rebound after Cesc Fabregas' shot was parried by Dudu Aouate. Cesc wouldn't have to wait long for his second though, displaying the clinical touch to extend Barca's lead on 37 minutes and once again, Alexis Sanchez responded with a goal of his own, just 96 seconds later.
Fabregas completed his hat-trick mere minutes after the restart, and finally the Blaugrana could relax. 5-0 up on La Liga's bottom side, the three points were completely secure; while Mallorca did threaten - and even had a goal disallowed for offside - the game was over as a contest and Tito Vilanova could make his three substitutions. Jonathan dos Santos got 40 minutes to display his talents, Gerard Deulofeu had a little under half-an-hour to showcase his potential and of course, Eric Abidal made his long-awaited return after over a year on the sidelines. All in all, a textbook victory for Barcelona; if only Wednesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg could be so straight-forward...
