The victory maintained their six point lead over Real, who beat Real Sociedad 2-0 on Saturday, at the top of the Spanish first division with four games to go.

Barca were making hard work of overcoming their visitors but one moment of brilliance from Samuel Eto'o turned the tide for Barcelona.

The African Player of the Year, and Spanish first division's top scorer, broke the deadlock after 66 minutes when he picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired home an inch-perfect curling right foot shot.

"The victory was entirely due to Eto'o. His great goal got us going," said Barca coach Frank Rijkaard.

With their noses in front, Barca never looked back.

The Catalan club's highly-rated 18-year-old midfielder Lionel Messi got their second goal just a few seconds before the final whistle.

Messi, who had only been on the field three minutes, got his first goal in Barca's senior ranks when he sent a delicate chip from the side of the box over the outstretched arms of Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena.

Barcelona left the field to the inspiring sound of 91,000 fans chanting, "campeones, cam-peones," but Rijkaard refused to take anything for granted.

"I hope we can make everyone happy and there are many people enjoying this moment but let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are still some games to be played," said the coach.

Two late goals from Ronaldo saw Real Madrid win 2-0 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, to notch up their sixth consecutive victory and ensure Rijkaard can't claim the championship for at least another week.

Sevilla stayed in third after their 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna, two outstanding early goals from Adriano and another teenage prodigy Jesus Navas clinching the victory.

Manchester United flop Diego Forlan scored twice to spark Villarreal to a 4-0 thrashing of Getafe on Sunday, which meant they moved up to fourth place.

The Uruguayan striker continued to put behind him the dismal memories of his stint at Old Trafford with two goals to take his tally for the Spanish League season to 20.