Cristiano Ronaldo struck a brilliant hat-trick as Real Madrid moved 10 points clear at the Primera Division summit with a thumping 4-2 victory over 10-man Levante.
Jose Mourinho's men took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Osasuna last night to move into a commanding position in the title race. Gustavo Cabral headed Levante into a surprise early lead, but the 43rd-minute dismissal of Vicente Iborra, who picked up a second booking for handling in the area, swung the game in the hosts' favour.
Ronaldo opened his account from the resulting spot-kick before adding another five minutes into the second half and completing his treble with a wonderful long-range effort on 57 minutes. Arouna Kone pulled it back to 3-2 with a header after 63 minutes but Madrid restored their two-goal cushion when Karim Benzema curled home an exquisite fourth.
Villarreal were made to work hard for a vital 3-1 win over fellow Primera Division strugglers Granada.
Marco Ruben's 16th-minute strike gave the home side a half-time lead against the run of play, but Inigo Lopez levelled with a header five minutes after half-time.
Borja Valero restored Villarreal's lead, though before Granada goalkeeper Julio Cesar diverted Joan Oriol's cross into his own goal to end his side's hopes of a comeback.
Second-half goals from Paulo da Silva and Juan Carlos were enough to hand Real Zaragoza a 2-0 win at Espanyol, their first victory since October 16.
• Saturday: Barca lose at Osasuna
Philippe Coutinho struck the post and Kalu Uche missed two good opportunities for Espanyol towards the end of the first half before the hosts were shocked 10 minutes into the second period as Da Silva bundled in Luis Garcia's corner.
Coutinho came even closer a minute later as he hit the underside of the bar and the Brazilian was denied by a brilliant save from Roberto with three minutes remaining before the visitors secured the points in stoppage time as Carlos kept his cool to round Kiko Casilla and slot home.
Espanyol had been given a great boost in their quest for a Champions League place yesterday as Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao both failed to win, but Los Pericos failed to take advantage thanks to a combination of poor finishing and slack defending.
Malaga climbed to seventh after beating Real Mallorca 3-1 at La Rosaleda stadium.
Michael Pereira put the visitors ahead with the game less than four minutes old but Seba Fernandez equalised soon after for Malaga.
Jeremy Toulalan then put the hosts in front in the second half and Salomon Rondon extended his team's advantage with 23 minutes remaining.
Mallorca could not find a way back as Malaga held on for their ninth victory of the season.
The result has allowed Manuel Pellegrini's men to bounce back from last Monday's 2-1 loss at Granada and left them just one point behind fourth-placed Levante, who hold the Champions League play-off spot. Mallorca are in 14th place following their ninth defeat of the campaign.
Michu and Diego Costa scored either side of half-time as Rayo Vallecano eased to a 2-0 derby victory over Getafe.
Both teams struggled with the freezing conditions early on but the hosts took control of the game after 33 minutes as Michu prodded home at the second attempt after Miguel Angel Moya had saved his first header.
The visitors were then reduced to 10 men 16 minutes after the break when Michel was harshly shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Costa. And the Brazilian sealed the victory three minutes later as he nipped ahead of Moya to head in Jose Luis Movilla's cross.
