Barca holds La Liga's top spot

Truly, Xavi's early goal was a thing of beauty. I know, he isn't Catalan, but I'll give him the "X" on the strength of his performance in this awesome game:

Barcelona held onto its slim lead in the Spanish La Liga on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Celta de Vigo at the Nou Camp.

The defending champions now have 42 points, one up on Sevilla, who gained their first victory of 2007 with a 4-2 win over Levante. Real Madrid sits in third place, four points back after losing to Villarreal Saturday.

Barca was able to earn the victory after striker Javier Saviola headed the team in front in the first half. Celta got the equalizer midway through the second when Nene scored on a penalty but Ronaldinho returned the favor about 10 minutes later to put the home side up one. Ludovic Giuly scored on a breakaway in the closing minutes to seal the win for Barcelona.

The first goal was a thing of beauty after several chances by the home team had been thwarted in the early going.

The cross was from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, who isn't Catalan by any stretch of the imagination. You need a nice precise German for these crosses.

Barca holds La Liga's top spot - Soccer