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Henry fires Barcelona 10 points clear

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  • Thierry Henry fires Barcelona 10 points clear at the top of Primera Liga table
  • The Catalan giants came from behind to win 2-1 away to Villarreal on Sunday
  • Almeria sack coach Gonzalo Arconada after their 1-0 defeat at Sporting Gijon
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(CNN) -- Thierry Henry fired Barcelona 10 points clear at the top of the Primera Liga as the Catalan club came from behind to win 2-1 away to Villarreal.

Thierry Henry's goal ensured that Barcelona left for their winter break with a 10 point title advantage.

Thierry Henry's goal ensured that Barcelona left for their winter break with a 10 point title advantage.

Cani gave Villarreal the lead three minutes into the second half with Seydou Keita hauling the leaders level after 55 minutes.

French international striker Henry completed the recovery 11 minutes later to give Barcelona a crucial victory in their last match before the break for Christmas.

Gerard Pique was sent off late on, but Barcelona survived a wave of Villarreal attacks to be able to relax at the end of 2008.

Coach Pep Guardiola rightly refuses to take the championship outcome for granted saying: "It is comforting to see the way the players are performing but nothing has been decided yet."

He added: "The game was difficult as we expected but we had luck on our side. Even with 10 men there were moments when Xavi (Hernandez) and (Dani) Alves were too far forward and we were caught out.

"We have to know how to manage these types of matches even though it is difficult for a coach to get players to stay back."

Almeria sacked coach Gonzalo Arconada after a 1-0 defeat at Sporting Gijon where Tati Maldonado scored the only goal after 28 minutes to see the home side end the year on a high note.

For Almeria, the defeat was a fourth in their last five matches and they are in danger of becoming involved in a relegation scrap, prompting the club's decision to change their coach.

Deportivo La Coruna put themselves in a good position to launch an assault for a European place following an impressive 4-1 win at home against Recreativo Huelva.

Deportivo, who will start the new year in seventh place, raced into a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes through Alberto Lopo and a Sergio Gonzalez penalty.

Adrian Colunga hit back with another spot-kick three minutes later but Rafael Bodipo restored Depor's two-goal advantage a minute before half-time and Filipe Luis added a stunning finale.

Sevilla completed a disappointing few days as they were held to a goalless draw at lowly Real Mallorca, three days after being dumped out of the UEFA Cup.

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