Second half goals from Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovich gave FC Barcelona a 2-0 win away to Xerez and put the Catalan side five points clear at the top of the Spanish?La Liga table.

The win was just about deserved by a below Barcelona side that played several fringe players and was way below its best, but which rarely suffered against a rival that offered little threat in attack.

Barcelona went into the game on the back of the 1-0 win over Real Madrid last Sunday but with several changes in its starting line up.

As expected coach Pep Guardiola returned both Leo Messi and Sunday's hero Zlatan Ibrahimovich to the substitutes' bench to avoid the risk of further injury.

However, it was a surprise to see Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol out of the starting 11 with Rafael Marquez, Pedro Rodriguez and Bojan Krkic in the Barca side.

Xerez coach Jose Angel Ziganda's side may have been bottom of the table with only four goals scored all season, but the home side planted a defensive battle against the league leaders.

Xerez defended with its defense and midfield close to each other and Barcelona had little space to play its usual flowing football.

Barca was not helped either by the rain that continued to fall during the first half and a bumpy pitch that complicated its passing game and although Guardiola's men dominated possession, they failed to test the Xerez keeper Renan.

The main incident in the first half was a head injury to Xerez striker Mario Bermejo who was able to continue after clashing with Rafael Marquez.

Everything changed in the first minute of the second half, after Henry headed home Maxwell's cross from the left to open the scoring. After working so hard for the first period, the Xerez players were caught out for a lack of concentration.

Guardiola reacted by bringing on new "Balon D' Or" Leo Messi for Perdo, while Xerez brought Antonito into the game.

That brought a timid reaction from the home side and with 25 minutes remaining Ibrahimovich entered the game. He almost brought an immediate impact after flicking on Xavi's corner only for Marquez to fail to arrive at the far post.

Messi hit the post in injury time and Iniesta missed when it looked easier to score, but Ibrahimovich's chip in virtually the last move of the match meant their side had done just about enough to deserve the points.