Real Mallorca continued their impressive home record with an emphatic 4-1 win over Europa League quarter-finalists Atletico Madrid on Sunday that took them up to fourth in the table.
With Mallorca having lost just once all season at their own stadium it was always going to be a tough task for Atletico and they went behind after ten minutes when the unmarked Victor Casadesus slotted home.
The Atletico defence was struggling and while Diego Forlan drew them level it was to prove only a brief respite as two minutes later Aritz Aduriz headed the hosts back in front.
The visitors’ chances of a comeback were rocked by the second-half dismissal of Raul Garcia and from then on Mallorca took control.
Luis Perea rounded off a poor personal performance with an own goal and then Felipe Mattioni hit a fine strike to wrap up the scoring in the final minutes.
Malaga brought a run of three straight defeats to an end with a 2-0 win over Villarreal.
A game low on chances and entertainment appeared to be heading for a stalemate until Nabil Baha headed in a corner mid-way through the second half.
With Villarreal forced to press forward he found the net again late on from a counter-attack.
Racing Santander managed their first win in seven matches with a 3-1 victory away to Osasuna.
Miguel Flano put the home side in front before Racing responded through Gonzalo Colsa, Christian Fernandez and Papakouly Diop.
On Saturday, Real Madrid secured their ninth straight victory after coming from behind to beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 to open up a three-point lead at the top of the table over Barcelona, who play later on Sunday against Zaragoza.
Sporting went ahead through David Barral before Real woke up and hit back through Rafael van der Vaart, Xabi Alonso and Gonzalo Higuain.
The onus is now on Barcelona who could be without their key player Leo Messi, scorer of eight of their last ten goals.
The Argentine winger was unable to take part in the club’s final pre-game training session after picking up a tooth infection.
“With or without Leo we must win. Obviously with him we are better but we can also pick up three points if he doesn’t play,” said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
“The big aim this year is to win the league and this is more important than the Champions League. How well we do in the league is an indication of our form over the whole season and if we get to the final of the Champions League we are sure to be also playing well in the league.”
Third-placed Valencia have Spain striker David Villa back as they look to end their three-match run without a win against Almeria.
