Spanish La Liga: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez shine in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Cordoba

Spanish giants Barcelona brushed aside newly-promoted opponent Cordoba 5-0 to close the gap on table leaders Real Madrid to one point, as Luis Suarez scored his first goal in the league.

Lionel Messi also netted a late brace to clinch an easy win for the Catalans.

Also Read: Real Madrid beat San Lorenzo to lift Club World Cup

Spain forward Pedro gave the Catalans an early lead, before Suarez, who was banned until October for biting, netted a second one shortly after half-time. The lead was further extended by Gerard Pique's stunning header in the 80th minute before Messi netted a brace to register a convincing win before full-time. Earlier in the week, Barca slipped four points adrift of Madrid on account of a frustrating 0-0 draw at Getafe.

With Real not playing because of their involvement in the Club World Cup, Barca seized the chance to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid claimed their fourth trophy of the year following their 2-0 win against South American champions San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup final in Morocco.