Classy Barca punish Real slip-up
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FC Barcelona set a new points record for the first half of the season in Spain as they defeated Malaga 4-1 in the Camp Nou stadium on Sunday.
David Villa scored twice and there were goals from Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez as Barca gave Malaga no option of taking a positive result from the game.
The win leaves Barcelona with 52 points from a possible 57 as the Spanish season reaches its halfway mark and it also means the Catalans have set a new club record of 28 games undefeated in all competitions.
Real Madrid's title campaign took a huge blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw away to bottom of the table Almeria.
Esteban Granero scored an equalizer for Madrid after Jose Ulloa had scored a shock goal for the home side on the hour.
Kaka began the game in the Real Madrid starting 11, but failed to make an impact in the 54 minutes he was on the pitch in what was a disappointing display from Jose Mourinho's side.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit the woodwork for Madrid in injury time, but the ball bounced out to safety.
Valencia consolidated their position in the top four of the league with a 2-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruna. The home side had to wait until late in the game before goals from Jeremy Mathieu and Pablo Hernandez gave them the points.
The remaining matches were all played on Saturday night with the focus on third placed Villarreal, who didn't disappoint with a 4-2 win over Osasuna.
Marco Ruben opened the scoring for the home side, but the goal of the night was scored from Cani, who fired home from the halfway line, a distance of over 50 meters.
Joan Capdevila and Gonzalo Rodriguez scored their side's other goals.
Real Sociedad took a shock 4-0 away to Getafe to end a run of four defeats. Xabi Prieto opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before Antoine Griezmann doubled the lead for the Basques. Midfielder Mikel Aranburu ended up the game with two more goals in the second half.
Sporting Gijon took a lot of the pressure off coach Manuel Preciado with a 2-0 win at home to Hercules. David Barral and Nacho Casis scored for Sporting
Gabi Fernandez's penalty gave Zaragoza an important 1-0 win over Levante.
Meanwhile Javi Martinez and Iker Muniain scored early goals to help Athletic Bilbao to a 2-1 win at home to Racing Santander.
Ivan Bolado scored for Racing with 15 minutes remaining, but Athletic held on to move into sixth place in the table.
Finally Javier Callejon scored twice as fifth placed Espanyol kept up the pressure on the top four with an impressive 2-1 win in Sevilla, with the home side's goal coming in injury time thanks to Alvaro Negredo.
