MADRID (AFP) - League leaders Barcelona showed that, after some stuttering performances since the start of the year, they are recapturing their top form with an impressive 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.

Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, whose long absences during the first half of the season badly affected Barca, got the Catalan club's goals to give them a three point lead at the top of La Liga.

Messi scored on the stroke of halftime, ingeniously finding space on the edge of the area before chesting down a Ronaldinho cross and scoring with a left foot shot.

Six minutes after half time, Eto'o exploited Deportivo's defensive disarray to get Barca's second goal.

Adrian Lopez, who like Messi is still only 19 years old, outpaced Barcelona's defenders and ran from 25 metres out to the edge of the six yard box before hammering home his right foot shot to get one back for Deportivo 21 minutes from time.

However, it was almost the only lapse of concentration by Barcelona all night.

Second-placed Sevilla have a game in hand and play at Celta Vigo on Sunday and but Barca have a far superior goal difference to their nearest rivals for the title.

Valencia warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Chelsea with a 3-2 win over Espanyol on Saturday.

The goals for Spain's last surviving side in Europe's top club competition came from Spanish internationals David Villa, Vicente Rodriguez and Miguel Angel Angulo, who will all be on display at Stamford Bridge.

Villa ended his domestic barren streak when he got his first goal in seven games, and his 11th of the season, scoring from close range after 11 minutes from a pass by Joaquin Sanchez.

Albert Riera equalised less than three minutes later for Espanyol but Valencia soon took control of the game again with Vicente Rodriguez scoring from 10 metres out after a cross by Villa.

Angulo put Valencia further ahead just before the hour with Villa again providing the service before Espanyol's Luis Garcia pulled one back after 62 minutes.

"We had a good first half and I thought we were winning comfortably at 3-1 but their second goal made us suffer during the last part of the game," admitted Valencia coach Quique Flores.

The victory means that the 2002 and 2004 Spanish champions leapfrog over Real Madrid, who play at Celta Vigo on Sunday, into third place.

Real Sociedad moved off the foot of the table when they notched up their fourth win of the season, a 1-0 victory over Levante.

Ion Antsogui headed home a Savio free kick after 37 minutes for the only goal of the game.

Levante had to play most of the second half with 10 men after their Ghanaian midfielder Riga Mustapha was sent off on 52 minutes after getting his second yellow card.

Spanish international defender Juanito Gutierrez salvaged a point for Real Betis with a header two minutes into injury-time at the end of a 3-3 thriller with Villarreal.

Betis had to come from behind three times, with Villareal's Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan finding the net with his left-footed shot after just 56 seconds.

Fernando Fernandez equalised eight minutes later but Forlan got his 10th goal of the season from close range just after the break.

Brazilian striker Edu headed Betis back on level terms again after 71 minutes only for last season's Champions league semi-finalists to go ahead again six minutes later, with Forlan this time providing the service for Robert Pires to score from the edge of the area, before Juanito earned the draw.

It was the first goal for Pires since the 33 year-old former French international and 1998 World Cup winner moved to Villarreal last summer.

Pires tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a pre-season friendly and only returned to first team action two weeks ago.

The game was played at the Sevilla Olympic Stadium as Betis' home ground has been closed for three games after a fan threw a bottle during Spanish Cup tie with local rivals Sevilla earlier this month, knocking the visitors' coach Juande Ramos unconscious.