Lionel Messi scored his 55th goal of the season as 10-man Barcelona beat Mallorca 2-0 for their seventh consecutive league win.
Messi, who broke Barcelona's all-time scoring record on Wednesday, netted from a poorly defended free-kick to become the first player in a top-level European league to score 55 goals in a season since Sporting Lisbon's Mário Jardel in 2002.
Barcelona's Thiago Alcântara was sent off after receiving his second booking in the 56th minute, but Gerard Piqué volleyed in Messi's rebound off the post in the 79th to seal victory.
Just last week, Real Madrid's march towards a first league title in four years looked unstoppable, but back-to-back draws combined with Barcelona's rediscovered form have tightened the race.
"When we went down to 10 men we knew it would be tough, but we resisted well," Piqué said. "These are three valuable points."
Mallorca took the initiative early on at the Iberostar Stadium. But it was Messi who had the first scoring chance in the 13th minute, when he stole a back-pass and raced into the area, only to send his chip off the face of the Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate.
With Xavi Hernández on the bench, Barcelona's passing attack lacked its usual fluidity. But a horrible defensive lapse by the hosts let Messi score one of the easier goals of his record 235 for Barcelona. Various defenders failed to deal with Messi's lobbed free-kick and it bounced in the area before landing in the back of the net.
The goal took Messi's Spanish league haul to 35 goals this season, two more than Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina forward has scored in eight consecutive games, with 18 goals during that streak.
Mallorca gained a numerical advantage after Thiago was shown a second yellow card for a questionable hand ball when it appeared he had used his shoulder to control the ball.
But after Messi squirmed free and fired a shot off the goal frame, Piqué put the result beyond doubt when he converted the rebound.