Xerez 0 - 2 Barcelona

Barca goalscorer Thierry Henry in action against Xerez

Thierry Henry, on the day FIFA announced they had opened proceedings against him for his infamous handball, helped Barcelona open up a five-point lead at the top of the Primera Division with a solid 2-0 victory over bottom club Xerez.

Henry opened the scoring a minute after half-time for his first goal since his hugely controversial handball last month that helped France reach the World Cup finals at the expense of the Republic of Ireland.

It is that handball that could lead to the veteran striker possibly being banned for the start of next summer's World Cup finals after FIFA announced that their disciplinary committee were looking into the incident.

Henry put that development aside to help Barca further strengthen their grip at the top of the league in their re-arranged fixture against Xerez, with substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic adding a late second for the champions.

Barca survived that opportunity, though, and they twice came close to doubling their lead in the closing stages before Ibrahimovic scored a superb chip.

Messi almost netted with a shot that struck the far post, before Iniesta hit the side-netting when it looked easier to score, but there was no denying Ibrahimovic who superbly chipped home his ninth league goal of the season after being put through by Messi.