Barcelona showed Real Madrid they will take some budging from the top of the table with an emphatic 6-0 home win over Malaga on Sunday to restore their six-point cushion over the champions.
A few hours earlier Real had defeated Almeria 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu to cut Barcelona’s lead to three points, but Pep Guardiola’s side responded by cutting poor Malaga to shreds.
Xavi, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o were all on target in a sensational first 45 minutes and Malaga couldn’t wait for the half-time whistle.
It was more of the same in the second half with Eto’o scoring his second on 56 minutes while marauding right back Dani Alves (51) also netted, scoring the goal of the game by heading in after a sublime pass from Andres Iniesta.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made it eight goals in his last six games with a brace as Real Madrid eased to a 3-0 win over Almeria.
Legendary Real old boy Hugo Sanchez, now coach at Almeria, grabbed the pre-match attention on his return to the Santiago Bernabeu, but it was Huntelaar who stole the headlines with a clinical second-half double.
Marcelo, jeered by his own fans this season, silenced the doubters with a 23rd minute opener before Huntelaar showed his predatory instincts in the 52nd and 65th minutes to wrap up the points.
Real struck first on 23 minutes with Marcelo driving home from outside the area with his weaker right foot.
Marcelo hit the crossbar early in the second period before Huntelaar rifled a volley into the roof of the net. The Dutch forward added a second with a neat finish after Almeria failed to clear their lines.
Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid’s fell to a 2-0 defeat at Real Mallorca.
Atletico stay five points behind fourth-placed Villarreal with Valencia now level on points following their 1-0 victory over Racing Santander.
It was a big win for Mallorca who surge up to 12th although they are only three points above the drop.
There are 11 teams still involved in the relegation battle with tenth-placed Racing only four points better off than third from bottom Osasuna.
Osasuna secured a 1-0 win over troubled Espanyol. Espanyol, one of the few teams to beat Barcelona this season, are adrift at the bottom eight points from safety.
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