Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored twice in two minutes as Barcelona broke the resistance of 10-man Atletico Madrid on Saturday to go 11 points clear of their La Liga title rivals. Diego Costa was sent off in the 28th minute at Camp Nou after appearing to insult the referee, Gil Manzano, but while Atletico held on for almost another hour, Suarez and Messi struck late to seal a pivotal 2-0 win. The victory leaves Barca almost out of sight with seven games left to play and maintains momentum ahead of Wednesday's trip to Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

United's coach Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was in the crowd along with his assistant Mike Phelan but this was a familiar story of Barcelona's deadly duo delivering when it mattered most. Costa's early and needless dismissal left Atletico needing snookers just to avoid defeat, let alone pull off the win that their coach Diego Simeone had said was the only result that could keep their challenge alive.