Barcelona's Lionel Messi (right) celebrates his goal against Atletico Madrid with teammates yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

Barcelona have one hand on the La Liga title after Lionel Messi's sensational free-kick earned them a deserved 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid yesterday. Atletico arrived at the Camp Nou on the back of eight consecutive wins but Barca halted the surge and instead restored their own lead at the top to eight points, with 11 games left to play.