From correspondents in Madrid, Spain, 05:06 PM IST

A 2-1 home win over Deportivo Coruna allowed Barcelona to open a three-point lead at the top of the Spanish Liga football tournament.

The handsome win Saturday leaves Barcelona with 53 points from 28 games, three more than Sevilla.

Goals either side of halftime from strikers Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o reflected Barcelona's clear superiority.

'It's good to score again,' said Messi, 'though the important thing is that we have won again.'

Mid-table Deportivo made a bright start and almost reached a scoreless halftime.

In the 44th minute, though, a moment of magic from Ronaldinho on the right set up Messi, who controlled with his chest and scored with his left foot.

Eto'o made it 2-0 in the 50th minute after another classy Ronaldinho move.

Just when Barca looked about to take Depor to the cleaners, young sub Adrian pulled a goal back for the visitors on the break, in the 68th minute.

Deportivo had their chances in an open finish, but so too did Barcelona.

Earlier Saturday, Valencia had moved up to third with a tight 3-2 defeat of Espanyol while lowly Betis scraped a late 3-3 draw at home to midtable Villarreal. Real Sociedad came off the bottom thanks to a 1-0 win over Levannte.

The results put Gimnastic Tarragona back in bottom spot, with just 20 points. Then come Sociedad on 21, then Celta and Athletic Bilbao on 27 and Levante on 28.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)