Barcelona continued their surge towards the La Liga title as they hammered Cordoba 8-0 to confirm Jose Antonio Romero's side's relegation to the Segunda Division.

Luis Suarez was in fine form at the Nuevo Arcangel as he scored hat-trick, while Lionel Messi scored a brace.

Gerard Pique, Ivan Rakitic and Neymar also got on the scoresheet to move the Catalan club five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Here, Sports Mole breaks down the game to see if Barcelona deserved to win in such convincing fashion.

Match statistics

CORDOBA
Shots: 5
On target: 1
Possession: 25%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 11

BARCELONA
Shots: 27
On target: 11
Possession: 75%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 3

Was the result fair?

Barcelona deserved their emphatic victory as they patiently waited in the first half for their opportunities to break down the resolute backline of Cordoba, who hung in well against Enrique's men for 42 minutes. However, after Rakitic's first goal, it was all one-way traffic and Barcelona were at their clinical best in front of goal as they managed to take the majority of the clear-cut openings that they created. Enrique will argue that his team could even have played better, but the visitors fully deserved to take all three points from the match.

Cordoba's performance

Cordoba played well for the first 40 minutes, although they were lucky that Neymar did not fire the visitors ahead in the second minute. Defensively they frustrated Barcelona for the majority of the first half and even had some good chances on the break through Florin Andone and Bebe, but they failed to take the opportunities. Once Barcelona took the lead through Rakitic, Cordoba crumbled as they lost all their discipline at the back and they were humiliated in the second half as Enrique's men picked them off again and again. No team wants to be relegated, but Cordoba confirmed their drop without much of a fight.

Barcelona's performance

Barcelona were patient then clinical as they were forced to wait for the first goal of the match. However, a mark of a good side is confidence and taking your chances when they come along, and Barcelona did just that at the Nuevo Arcangel. They would have been frustrated by the home side in the first 40 minutes, but they did not rush themselves in front of goal and eventually their patience paid off when Rakitic fired them ahead. From then on, it was a stroll for Enrique's men as Suarez, Messi and Neymar ran the show and faced little resistance in the final third. Dani Alves was also a constant threat down the right as he had the freedom of the right wing.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Luis Suarez: It could have been a number of players, but Suarez netted a hat-trick so it is hard to ignore his claim. He was predatory in front of goal as he sneaked around the back of a defender for his first and showed good movement for his second to head home at the near post. For his third strike, he displayed composure and deadly accuracy with his right foot to find the bottom corner. An excellent display from a brilliant player.

Biggest gaffe It is hard to point the finger of blame at any one Cordoba player for their mistakes this afternoon, but Adrian Gunino gave away a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Neymar to present the visitors their seventh goal. It might be harsh on the defender, but it was the one goal that did stand out due to an individual error.

Referee performance Carlos Clos Gomez had probably the easiest game of his career as their were no real moments of controversy or bad tackles. The penalty decision was correct and he was only forced into two bookings in the 90 minutes.

What next?

Cordoba: Romero's side are next in action in La Liga next week against Granada.

Barcelona: The Catalan club play the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.