Barcelona: Pedro Rodriguez scored twice in the second half to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over Levante on Sunday, its 11th consecutive victory in the Spanish league.
Both goals were set up by Dani Alves, who provided the second-half spark that energized a Barcelona attack missing Lionel Messi, who was watching from the stands.
Levante succeeded in stifling the home side throughout the first half but at the start of the second, Alves slipped the ball to Pedro, who calmly slotted a shot through a wall of Levante defenders to put Barcelona ahead in the 47th.
Twelve minutes later, the Brazil right back centered low for Pedro to volley into the Levante goal.
Christian Stuani, who had just come on to the pitch, halved the visitors' deficit with a sharp strike with ten minutes to play.
Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez played in his 549th game for Barcelona, tying Miguel Bernando for the club record.
"They defended deeply and it was difficult to find space," Xavi said. "It is an honor not for the record but for being able to defend these colors."
Also, a 10-man Valencia beat Espanyol 2-1 from a late goal by Juanma Mata, Deportivo La Coruna beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1, Sevilla defeated Osasuna 1-0 and Malaga rallied to down Sporting Gijon 2-1.
Messi, who returned from his winter holidays on Sunday, was replaced in the team by striker Bojan Krkic. And with Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique unavailable because of injury and suspension, respectively, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola experimented with midfielder Sergio Busquets alongside Eric Abidal in the center of his defense.
Early on, Levante showed few of the frailties that last week saw it lose 8-0 to Real Madrid, and made it difficult for Barcelona to deploy its crisp passing attack.
In one of the Catalan club's few clear scoring chances in the first half, Bojan dribbled to the edge of the six-yard box, but Levante goalie Manolo Reina quickly cut off his angle and smothered his shot. Two minutes later, Andres Iniesta crossed to Bojan, whose blocked shot fell to Alves, who then shot high.
Barcelona came out in the second half looking for a breakthrough, and it soon came through Pedro's seventh and eighth league goals, all of which have come in the last eight games.
Guardiola compared Pedro to Barcelona's absent star.
"Near the goal, (Pedro) is almost like Messi, he has the goal in his sights," Guardiola said.
The Spain forward almost had a hat trick in the 67th when substitute Thiago Alcantara put him through on goal, but his shot hit the crossbar.
Despite the miss, Barcelona held on for the victory.
Barcelona's 11-game league winning streak, in which it has outscored its opponents 44-5, is four shy of Spanish record, set by Real Madrid in 1960-61. The Catalan side also extended unbeaten streak in all competitions to 24 matches.
The loss left Levante two points above the relegation zone.
At Mestalla stadium, Valencia struck first when Aritz Aduriz headed in his seventh goal of the season in the 29th minute. But teammate Ricardo Costa scored an own-goal when he headed in a cross from Espanyol's Jose Callejon in the 47th.
Valencia played the last half hour a man down after Aduriz was sent off for elbowing Javier Chica. Mata headed in the winner in injury time to push his team three points clear of fifth-place Espanyol.
Earlier, Adrian Lopez scored twice to give Deportivo La Coruna a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao with both teams having a man sent off.
The Deportivo striker hit the first from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute and scored the second with a long-range strike in the 52nd.
After missing various chances earlier, Fernando Llorente pulled one back for Bilbao with a header in the 86th for his 11th goal of the season.
Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose was sent off in the 34th minute, with Deportivo midfielder Juan Rodriguez being dismissed in the 47th.
"Football is about maximum effectiveness," Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros said. "The beginning of the game was one of the best we have had, but we just weren't lucky."
Deportivo's second away win provisionally lifted it into 12th place and ended eighth-place Bilbao's five-match winning streak at San Mames stadium.
Sevilla ended a five-game losing streak with its win over Osasuna to rise to ninth place, three points from the Europa League spots.
Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, who returned after missing his team's last 20 matches with a leg injury, took the free kick from which Frederic Kanoute headed in the 35th-minute goal.
At El Molinon stadium, Diego Castro put Sporting in front from the penalty spot in the 42nd, but Weligton equalized for Malaga three minutes later, and Antonio Galdeano scored a penalty in the 59th for the victory.
Real Madrid visits Getafe on Monday in a Spanish capital derby. Also, it's: Villarreal vs. Almeria; Zaragoza vs. Real Sociedad; Atletico Madrid vs. Racing Santander and Mallorca vs. Hercules.
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