Zaragoza 0-3 Barcelona: Tello fires double to stake claim for regular start

Barcelona: Barcelona sauntered to a comfortable 3-0 win over a Zaragoza side who never looked like they were fighting for their Liga lives at La Romareda.

Gerard Pique, David Villa, Pedro and Lionel Messi - the latter of whom was not even among the matchday squad - were all rested for the fixture but that did not stop the Blaugrana from completely outclassing their opponents. Thiago opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Cristian Tello netted a goal in either half to leave his team needing just three wins to wrest the Primera Division title from Real Madrid. Barca`s superiority was instantly clear as they got an effort away at the hosts` goal after just 45 seconds. After a brilliant first touch, Tello just could not muster enough bend on his effort to bring it inside the far post. The Catalan giants did not continue at such an explosive pace, but still monopolised possession of the ball even though a compact Zaragoza defence kept their options limited in the final third. However, with the hosts committing men forward for a corner Tito Vilanova`s side broke the deadlock with a goal on the counterattack. Thiago surged forward from deep and, after playing the ball wide to Alexis Sanchez, he raced into the box to sweep the return pass into the net. With minimal pressure coming from the hosts the Blaugrana could afford to play at a canter. That they did, until another injection of pace saw them double their lead 19 minutes later. Thiago bided his time in possession before threading a ball through the defence to put Tello one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The winger shaped to hit the ball towards the far corner but instead guided the ball in at the near post. Alexis was desperate to continue the form that saw him score twice against Mallorca last weekend but luck was not on his side. Having been denied a first-half goal by the legs of Roberto Jimenez, he then saw his elegant chip come back off the bar shortly after the restart. The third goal did come soon after,wards and once more it was Tello who got it. With space to run into, he passed Glenn Loovens down the left with a stepover and then rolled the ball into the far corner. Manolo Jimenez will no doubt have been disappointed at his team`s inability to test the makeshift Barca defence but the visitors` brilliant ball retention kept the pressure off the backline. Tello was denied a hat-trick when Roberto raced out of goal to block the youngster`s 69th-minute attempt but the three points had already been wrapped up. Barca therefore open up a temporary 16-point lead over Real Madrid to bring the title well within their grasp, though Madrid will try to push them as far as possible by winning against Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday. Zaragoza, meanwhile, end the weekend in the relegation zone following Deportivo La Coruna`s fourth consecutive win. Goal.com