Soccer - La Liga:Barcelona took another big stride towards a second-straight La Liga triumph when top scorer Lionel Messi struck twice in a 4-1 home win over relegation threatened Tenerife today.
Carles Puyol's howler gifted the visitors an equaliser after Messi had put Barca ahead in the 17th minute before Bojan Krkic and substitute Pedro netted with clinical second-half strikes.
Messi added a fourth in added time at a rain-lashed Nou Camp when he controlled a Daniel Alves pass and lifted the ball high into the net for his 31st league goal of the campaign.
With two matches left, Barca have a La Liga record 93 points, four clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and can cut the gap back to one point with a win at Champions League hopefuls Real Mallorca tomorrow.
Barca's points total from 36 matches surpasses the 92 accumulated by Real under Fabio Capello in the 1996-97 campaign when there were 22 teams rather than 20.