Barcelona Cruise to Win vs. Malaga; Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho Score

La Liga leaders Barcelona cruised to a 2-0 victory over Malaga on Saturday thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.

The visitors were forced to play over an hour with just 10 men after Samu was sent off for a crude first-half challenge on Jordi Alba. The defeat keeps Malaga six points adrift at the bottom of the table and destined for relegation.

Barcelona were without top scorer Lionel Messi for the trip to Malaga following the birth of his third son (per Marca). The two teams shared their lineups via Twitter:

The visitors dominated the first half and were two goals up at the break. Suarez, Ousmane Dembele and Coutinho were all bright and gave the Malaga defence all sorts of problems with their movement and passing.

Suarez might have opened the scoring on 13 minutes after a neatly worked move from the visitors. The striker was sent through on goal and cut back onto his left foot, but a diving Roberto saved his well-struck shot.

However, the Uruguayan did manage to break the deadlock two minutes later. A neat Barca move saw the ball worked to Alba down the left, and the unmarked striker headed home a perfect cross.

Opta noted Alba has the most assists of any La Liga defender:

Barca had further chances to score, with Paulinho firing into the side-netting before Barcelona doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark. This time, Dembele was the creator as he raced into the box and checked back before crossing for Coutinho to flick home at the near post with a delightful finish.

Football correspondent Kieran Canning was impressed with Coutinho:

The evening then got worse for Malaga, as Samu was sent off for a late lunge on Alba, catching him painfully on the ankle. The referee showed him a straight red card, leaving the hosts down to 10 men and with little chance of getting back into the game.

Football journalist Rik Sharma said it was a deserved sending-off:

Despite being a man down, Malaga did have sights of goal, as Youssef En-Nesyri headed over and then Mehdi Lacen fired just from the edge of the penalty area. 

With a comfortable lead and a man advantage, Barcelona eased off after the break but still managed to test Roberto. Dembele fired a fierce shot, which the goalkeeper was equal to before Coutinho also tested him from range.

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde opted to make changes late on, bringing in Andre Gomes for Sergi Roberto and Lucas Digne for Alba. However, writer Andy West said he might have made changes earlier in the game:

The only sour note for Barcelona was a late booking for goalscorer Suarez that means he will miss the club's next La Liga fixture against Athletic Bilbao because of suspension:

The win moves Barcelona 11 points clear at the top of the table, with second-placed Atletico Madrid set to play Celta Vigo on Sunday, and it sets them up nicely for Wednesday's crucial Champions League clash against Chelsea.