Reigning Spanish champions and league leaders Barcelona endured some difficult periods but eventually prevailed for a 3-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday.
The win means that Barcelona preserve their one point lead at the top of La Liga after their nearest rivals Sevilla won 4-2 at Levante.
"This result was a step forward for the team," said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.
Barca's Argentine international Javier Saviola headed the opening goal after 34 minutes following a cross from Giovanni van Bronckhorst but the Dutch defender went from hero to villain midway through the second half.
Celta's Nene scored with his right foot shot from the spot after Van Bronckhorst had clumsily brought down Angel Lopez.
Van Bronkhorst was also the protagonist in Barca's second goal when he fell over on the edge of the area after some minimal contact by Gabriel Tamas.
The Celta players protested to no avail and Ronaldinho scored the game's second penalty.
Barca's second half substitute Ludovic Giuly clinched the victory three minutes before the whistle.
Celta have now not won in their last nine games and lie just one place above the relegation zone.
Sevilla got their first win of the year after coming out top in a six-goal thriller.
"After three games without a win, the truth is that I was starting to worry we might start slipping down the table," said Sevilla coach Juande Ramos.
Fredi Kanoute put Sevilla ahead after 35 minutes, hammering home an Alexandr Kerzhakov pass for his 16th goal of the season.
Kerzhakov then got on the scoresheet 10 minutes after the break, connecting with an Alejandro Alfaro cross, his first goal for his new club since moving to Spain from Zenit St Petersburg earlier this month.
Levante midfielder Damiano Tommasi then turned an Alfaro shot into his own net midway through the second half to put Sevilla in command but the hosts then threatened a remarkable comeback.
Frederic Dehu and Gustavo Reggi headed Levante back into contention with two goals in five minutes before Alfaro calmed Sevilla's nerves with a 76th-minute header.
Valencia's six-game winning streak came to an end when they went down 2-1 at Real Betis.
David Silva caught the Betis defense sleeping and David Villa finished off his good work to put Valencia ahead after nine minutes but Betis' Brazilian striker Robert exploited the visitors' own lapse of concentration five minutes later.
Robert got his second of the night after 67 minutes, this time from the penalty spot, following David Albelda's lunge on `Capi' Capitan.
The win means Betis climb out of the relegation zone, and Levante drop into the bottom three.
Bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona got their biggest win of the season with a surprise 4-0 thrashing of Espanyol.
Javier Portillo opened the scoring with a header after eight minutes and Alejandro Campano added a penalty 10 minutes later.
A left foot shot by Antonio Pinilla after 25 minutes put Gimnastic 3-0 up and Cesar Navas headed Gimnastic's fourth just before the break.
Real Sociedad, who are one point and one place above Gimnastic, added another page to their humiliating season by being beaten 2-0 at home in the Basque derby match with local rivals Athletic Bilbao.
Andoni Iraola got both goals, both half-volleys from the edge of the area, his first was a left-foot shot on 12 minutes and the second came from his right foot 21 minutes before the end.
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