Three first half goals put FC Barcelona on the way to a comfortable 4-0 win against Racing Santander.

Andres Iniesta, with his first goal of the season and free kicks from Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez put Barcelona on its way to an easy win.

The win leaves Barcelona five points ahead of second placed Real Madrid, although Real has a chance to close that to two points against Villarreal on Sunday.

Barcelona suffered a setback before the match when Zlatan Ibrahimovich was forced out of the squad with a muscle problem. Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic were both in the starting 11.

The Primera Liga leaders got off to a perfect start when Iniesta scored after six minutes.

The midfielder hit a shot from outside of the penalty area that left Racing keeper Coltoari helpless. It was the perfect way for him to celebrate his 300th appearance for the club.

Missing key players Gustavo Colsa and Pedro Munitis, Racing looked way below its best form, while Barcelona controlled the game.

Henry scored his side’s second goal with a 25-year free kick after 28 minutes, although the Frenchman was fortunate that Racing’s defensive wall opened to allow the ball through.

Rafael Marquez didn’t need any such luck when he added a third just six minutes later. His free kcik from slightly further out, flew over the wall and into the net after hitting the inside of the post.

Luck was not on Racing’s side and the visitors had a goal correctly ruled out for offside after 39 minutes after striker Xisco got a needless touch on a goalbound shot.

The second half was always going to be an anti-climax as Barcelnoa looked to reserve strength ahead of next week’s Champions League tie in Stuttgart.

The main incident saw Carles Puyol replaced by Jeffren after the Barca captain had received a knock in his face, before young substitute Thiago added a fourth goal with just seven minutes remaining.

His entry into the match meant that nine of Barca's 11 players on the pitch were products of the club's youth system.