MADRID: Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the second half as Barcelona squeezed past bottom club Xerez 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of La Liga on Wednesday.

The match had been brought forward two weeks because of Barcelona's participation in the Club World Cup, which starts in Abu Dhabi on Dec 9.

The unbeaten champions moved to 33 points and have played one game more than second-placed Real Madrid, on 28.