Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored twice as Barcelona thrashed Getafe 6-0 to hand Real Madrid an ominous La Liga title warning on Tuesday.
Getafe had held Luis Enrique's side to a goalless stalemate in December's reverse fixture and drew 2-2 at Barca last season, but any hopes of masterminding another surprise result were emphatically curtailed by a devastating five-goal first-half blitz at Camp Nou.
Barca's rout started with Messi's cool chipped penalty and he turned provider for Suarez to make it 2-0 with a stunning volley in the 25th minute.
The duo have formed part of a thrilling attacking trio alongside Neymar that has fired Barca to the top of La Liga, into the Copa del Rey final and the last four of the UEFA Champions League. And Neymar made it 3-0 to make it 100 goals across all competitions between the triumvirate this term.
Xavi rolled back with the years with an excellent fourth before Suarez added his second five minutes before the break.
The superb Messi made it 38 Liga goals for 2014-15 with an exquisite effort shortly after the break and the only surprise was that Barca failed to add to their tally.
Luis Enrique's men have now gone 10 Liga matches unbeaten and hold a five-point lead over Real, who host Almeria on Wednesday.
It took just nine minutes for Barca to break Getafe's resistance. Suarez's sharp turn drew a trip from Alvaro Arroyo just inside the area and Messi confidently dinked his spot-kick straight down the middle.
Fredy Hinestroza almost caught Barca cold when he lobbed Claudio Bravo, only for the goalkeeper to scramble back and scoop the ball off the line.
It proved a momentary scare, though, as Barca doubled their lead in some style.
Messi's delightful cross from the right was met with a stunning volley from Suarez that nestled in the top-right corner.
Not to be outdone, Neymar got in on the act when he twisted his way into the area and drilled a low shot into the left-hand corner to make it six goals in as many games for the Brazilian.
Worse was to come for Getafe as Xavi, who celebrated his 500th Liga appearance against Espanyol on Saturday, picked up the ball from the left and bent an exquisite 20-yard shot into the far corner.
Amazingly it was 5-0 in the 40th minute. Messi's pass was flicked into the path of Suarez by Xavi and the Uruguayan curled an unstoppable shot high past the outstretched hand of Vicente Guaita.
The romp continued two minutes after the break when Messi glided into the area from the right before effortlessly curling his shot into the far top corner.
Suarez twice went close to netting a hat-trick, while Getafe almost grabbed a consolation when Hinestroza's low shot span past Bravo and came back off the post.
Guaita denied Messi a third in the closing stages when he got a strong palm to the Argentine superstar's bending 20-yard free-kick, but Barca had done more than enough to crank up the pressure on Real.