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Barcelona
shrugged off a last-minute dash by train and bus to Pamplona to defeat
Osasuna 3-0 on Saturday, maintaining their two-point lead at the top of
La Liga after Real Madrid beat Valencia 2-0 at the Bernabeu.

A wildcat strike by
Spanish air traffic controllers led to Pep Guardiola’s side arriving at
the Reyno de Navarra stadium just before the start time of 1900 GMT,
forcing a 50-minute delay to the kickoff.

Despite limited
preparation time, Lionel Messi scored twice and Pedro once as the
champions made it seven wins from seven on the road this season.

Real Madrid
recovered from their 5-0 ‘Clasico’ drubbing at the Nou Camp to beat
Valencia, though it needed the 65th-minute sending off of Valencia
midfielder David Albelda to give them the edge.

Cristiano Ronaldo
settled their nerves with a goal after 73 minutes and then streaked
away to notch his 16th in La Liga this season with three minutes
remaining.

Barca have 37 points from 14 matches, Real have 35 and Valencia stay fifth with 24.

Atletico beaten

Atletico Madrid
slumped to a 2-0 defeat at promoted Levante, making it three defeats in
a week for the misfiring Europa League holders.

Defender Nano
headed Levante in front from a corner after three minutes and Ecuador
striker Felipe Caicedo sealed the win with a wonderful finish in the
59th.

Atletico, who lost 3-2 at home to Espanyol and Aris Salonika over the past week, stayed seventh with 20 points.

A pumped-up Osasuna made life difficult for Barca and they pressured the visitors all over the pitch in the early exchanges.

A wayward pass from
Victor Valdes almost gifted the hosts a goal but Fernando Soriano’s
attempted lob went straight back to the keeper.

The breakthrough goal came when Messi slipped a ball through for Pedro in the 26th minute and Barca never looked back.

David Villa released Messi on a breakaway in the 65th and the World Player of the Year scampered away to make it 2-0.

The Argentine was then bundled over for a penalty in the 83rd and
Messi picked himself up to score, taking his tally for the season to 15
league goals from 14 matches.