Thierry Henry netted a hat-trick as Barcelona swept aside Valencia with an exhilarating exhibition of total football at the Nou Camp in the Primera Liga last night.
Henry gave Barcelona the lead with a fine lob after 19 minutes and added a second just short of the half-hour mark as the Catalans quickly took control of the game.
Dani Alves put Pep Guardiola's side three up just after the break and Henry completed his hat-trick late on to wrap up a highly impressive Barcelona win.
Barca saw second-placed Villarreal held to a draw at home to Getafe earlier today and sensed the chance to open up a six-point lead at the top by beating Valencia, who began the day in third.
The Catalans dominated from the outset and Xavi almost gave the home side the lead after just two minutes when he beat Valencia goalkeeper Renan Brito, but saw his shot rebound off the post.
Barcelona continued to dominate after that and Renan did well to save from Alves after 18 minutes.
But a minute later, Guardiola's side took the lead.
Henry ran on to Yaya Toure's brilliant lofted pass from deep and lobbed a flailing Renan to put the Catalans in front.
The Brazilian goalkeeper perhaps should have done better, but Henry's finish was sublime.
The France striker had only this week complained that he was forced to run more than he ever did at Arsenal in order to fit in to Barcelona's attacking system.
But Guardiola publicly backed his striker by handing the Frenchman a starting role up front in place of the suspended Samuel Eto'o.
And Henry did not disappoint as he fired Barcelona into a 2-0 lead after 27 minutes.
Alves' long pass found Aleksander Hleb on the left-hand side of the box and the Belarus forward squared the ball intelligently to his former Arsenal colleague, who coolly slotted a right-footed shot past an exposed Renan for a precious two goal cushion.
And the home side never looked back after that.
Lionel Messi missed a one-on-one with Renan later in the half and Eidur Gudjohnsen was just off target in the lead-up to the interval.
Barcelona had to make do with a two-goal advantage at the break, but soon extended their lead when Xavi played in Alves and the Brazil full-back swept an angled shot past Renan.
Alves and Hleb both came close to adding a fourth goal as Guardiola's side continued to impress.
David Villa also missed a decent chance for Valencia, but the visitors were never really in the game and it was no surprise when Henry fired Barcelona into a four-goal lead to complete his hat-trick 12 minutes from time.
Alves was involved again, this time putting through substitute Bojan Krkic, who ran to the byline and pulled the ball back for the advancing Henry to finish easily.
It was the Frenchman's second competitive hat-trick since joining Barcelona last year and the former Arsenal man looked delighted when he received the match ball following the final whistle.
The comprehensive win sees Barcelona move six points clear of second-placed Villarreal and the Catalans will remain six points clear, even if fourth-placed Real Madrid beat Sevilla tomorrow.
Valencia stay in third for now, but could drop to fourth on Sunday.
Henry warned against complacency after the match, saying
‘We still haven't won anything.'
‘We need to play each game and already we have to think about the next one, and then about Real Madrid,’ he added on Spanish television channel La Sexta.
Henry also played down his starring role in the mauling of Valencia, insisting everyone has their part to play.
‘You always gain confidence when you have a game like that, but above my performance I want to highlight the collective work of the whole team and the end victory.
‘We all do what we can to help the team. Today (Samuel) Eto'o was not here and I scored three goals, but maybe another day it will be a defender who makes the big impact.’
He added: ‘I hope we continue like this. The fans are enjoying it in the stands and us on the pitch.
‘We knew that to win we would have to play very well, because Valencia still hadn't lost away from home. They were a very difficult opponent.’
