(CNN) -- Barcelona moved five points clear in Spain as manager Pep Guardiola celebrated his 100th match in charge with a 4-0 victory at home to Racing Santander on Saturday.
The injury-hit defending champions brushed off the pre-match loss of star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to romp into a 3-0 halftime lead as they put pressure on Real Madrid to win Sunday's home match against Villarreal.
The Swede is in doubt for Tuesday's Champions League trip to German club Stuttgart due to a swollen ankle.
Midfielder Andres Iniesta took advantage of some slack defending to pounce for his first goal this season in the seventh minute, hooking home a left-foot effort after the ball ran loose in his 300th outing for the club.
France striker Thierry Henry, handed a rare start due to Ibrahimovic's absence, netted a free-kick in the 29th minute after driving a shot through the defensive wall for his first goal this year.
Center-back Rafael Marquez marked his return from suspension with a similar effort nine minute later as he curled a set-piece over the wall and in off the post.
Barca took their foot off the pedal in the second half, but 18-year-old Thiago scored his first senior goal in the 84th minute with a deflected shot after Lionel Messi set him up with a cutback.
Captain Carles Puyol had to go off with a facial injury but is expected to face Stuttgart in the first leg of the last-16 tie.
It was Guardiola's 71st victory since taking charge of the Catalan giants, and 14th-placed Racing never looked like inflicting his 11th defeat -- the 10th came against Atletico Madrid last weekend, Barca's first in La Liga this season.
Sevilla moved to within a point of third-placed Valencia, who host Getafe on Monday, after coming from behind to beat fellow Champions League hopefuls Mallorca despite having two men sent off.
Mallorca, who also had a player red-carded, suffered their first home league defeat this season despite taking a fifth-minute lead through Mario Suarez.
Jesus Navas leveled in the 23rd minute but then Sevilla had striker Alvaro Negredo sent off soon after for his second red card in three matches.
Mallorca defender Ivan Ramis also saw red on the stroke of halftime for a foul on Didier Zokora, then 11 minutes after the break home goalkeeper Dudu Aouate made his second costly error of the game to let Ivica Dragutinovic's speculative free-kick drift into his net.
Substitute Diego Perotti made it 3-1 five minutes later, then Zokora was booked a second time for dissent as sixth-placed Mallorca slumped to a second defeat in six days.
Deportivo La Coruna moved above Mallorca into fifth with a 2-1 win against bottom club Xerez, with a penalty from Andres Guardado and another goal by Riki in the first seven minutes.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho extended his remarkable unbeaten run in home league matches to 130 as his Italian champions Inter Milan held on to draw 0-0 with Sampdoria on Saturday despite having two men sent off.
The Portuguese coach, who hosts his former club Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday, saw his team go down to nine men with more than half the match to play after Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba were red-carded.
Argentina defender Samuel was sent off for elbowing striker Nicola Pozzi in the 32nd minute, having already been booked. Cordoba was booked on 34 and 38 as he paid for encroaching at a free-kick and later barging Pozzi.
Sampdoria had Giampaolo Pazzini sent off for a second yellow card in the 74th minute but held on for a point that put them fourth above Napoli.
Inter, who also had two players sent off in the derby win over AC Milan, extended their Serie A lead to eight points from Roma, who play on Sunday.
Genoa joined sixth-placed Juventus on 38 points, 17 behind Inter, with a 3-0 win at home to 10-man Udinese.
Robert Acquafresca netted twice for the hosts before Cristian Zapata was sent off for swearing in the 57th minute, and Rodrigo Palacio wrapped up the victory seven minutes later.
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