Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's surprise draw at Almería to move four points clear at the top of the Primera Division this evening.

The Catalans swept aside Malaga 4-1 at the Camp Nou after Real were made to settle for a 1-1 draw against the league's bottom side.

Pep Guardiola's men dominated Malaga in a one-sided first half as Andrés Iniesta curled in a brilliant first and neat finishes from David Villa and Pedro had them 3-0 up at the break.

Duda's perfectly placed free-kick got the visitors on the scoresheet in the 68th minute but it served only to spur Barça back into action with Villa getting his second six minutes later.

The convincing win rounded off an excellent evening for the Catalan club following Madrid's failure to see off a team their rivals had beaten 8-0 earlier in the season.

But it could have been worse for Real, who needed a powerful finish from the substitute Esteban Granero in the 77th minute to claim a point after Almería had taken a shock lead through Leonardo Ulloa just before the hour.

Cristiano Ronaldo almost earned Madrid the victory in the last minute but his ferocious free-kick from the edge of the box came back off the underside of the crossbar.

Elsewhere late goals from Jeremy Mathieu and Pablo Hernández earned Valencia a 2-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruña.