Barcelona win at Xerez

Xerez 0-2 Barcelona

Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored Wednesday to give Barcelona a 2-0 victory at Xerez to open up a five-point lead over second-place Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

On the same day that FIFA opened a disciplinary case against Henry for a blatant hand ball that helped put France into the World Cup, the Barcelona striker turned Maxwell’s pass through the hands of goalkeeper Renan Soares in the 46th minute for his second league goal.

Ibrahimovic chipped over Renan in injury time to make up for missed chances by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. It was the Sweden striker’s ninth league goal.

The champions were by no means at their best but were still good enough to beat La Liga’s bottom side.

Barcelona, which played Wednesday to make up for a missed league round when it competes at the Club World Cup, has 33 points from 13 games. Madrid, which plays on Saturday against Almeria, has 28 from 12 games.

Messi, awarded the Golden Ball as Europe’s best player on Tuesday, started the match from the bench alongside Ibrahimovic, fresh from his winning volley in Sunday’s 1-0 “clasico” win over Madrid.

Barcelona plays Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.