Ten-man Barcelona struck late in the second half to secure a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Osasuna on Tuesday evening.
Barca made only one change from their win over Almeria, as Andreas Christensen took the place of the retiring Gerard Pique, who was on the bench for his last game, with Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres leading the front line.
Osasuna had a dream start after David Garcia fired them ahead on six minutes with a low header in the box from a corner by Ruben Garcia.
Xavi's charges struggled to get their foothold in the game and had an early blow on the half-hour mark after Lewandowski got a second yellow card for using his arm clumsily in an aerial challenge and was red-carded.
Osasuna remained organised, as they frustrated the Catalan giants who had the bulk of possession but not finding chances in the last third and just after the half-time whistle, Pique, one of the substitutes was red-carded for arguing with the match officials.
Blaugrana had the start they were looking for early in the second stanza as Pedri pulled them level with a thumping strike in the box from a rebound after the home side could not deal with a cross by Jordi Alba.
However, Barca could not maintain their momentum and Chimy Avila nearly restored the lead for Osasuna 22 minutes before time with a rocket that was tipped over the crossbar by the strong hand of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Xavi eventually made attacking changes in the last 15 minutes, as Raphinha and Anssumane Fati both came on for Dembele and Torres for fresh legs upfront.
The changes had the desired effect for Barca, as Raphinha gave them the lead in the last five minutes with a header on the far side of the box after a chipped pass over the top by Frenkie de Jong.
Osasuna had the momentum in the dying minutes, as they threatened to level matters but Blaugrana held on to move five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the log.
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