Cristiano Ronaldo (left) celebrates his hat-trick with Pepe

Atletico Madrid once again failed to gain points against Real Madrid as they suffered a heavy home defeat, while Villarreal picked up a valuable win in their fight against relegation.

ATLETICO MADRID 1-4 REAL MADRID

Atletico maintained their record of being completely useless against their city rivals, as a decent performance was still met with a comprehensive home defeat. Falcao had levelled Cristiano Ronaldo’s 25^th minute opener ten minutes into the second half to give Atleti hope of a result against Real, but Los Blancos were not to be denied as they surge towards the title.

Ronaldo was the main man once more, as he completed his hat-trick, with the final strike of the game scored by Jose Callejon to wrap up another victory and leave Atletico wondering what they have to do to beat their rivals.

BARCELONA 4-0 GETAFE

Barcelona kept up the pressure on Real at the top as they completed a routine victory over Getafe at Camp Nou. From the moment Alexis Sanchez put Barca in front after 13 minutes, the result was never in doubt, with Barca dominating the game.

Lionel Messi added a second just before half time, before Sanchez doubled his personal tally in the 73^rd minute. Pedro added a fourth two minutes later to add further gloss onto an impressive showing.

VILLARREAL 2-1 MALAGA

Malaga’s Champions League hopes suffered a setback, but Villarreal gave themselves real hope of surviving a shock relegation as they pulled clear of the drop zone.

Santi Cazorla looked to have secured all three points for Malaga with a stunning opener after 65 minutes, but things took a turn for the worse in the final ten minutes, with Malaga imploding.

Carlos Kameni was sent off for a professional foul when he brought down Hernan Perez, with Marcos Senna converting the subsequent penalty. And there was to be further late drama, as Perez scored the winner five minutes into stoppage time to seal what could prove an important victory for Los Submarinos Amarillos.

SEVILLA 3-0 REAL ZARAGOZA

While their closest counterparts were triumphing, Zaragoza’s recent good run was undone with a heavy defeat to Sevilla. The Andalusian outfit did their European hopes a world of good with an impressive showing that will do their confidence wonders going into the crucial run-in.

Federico Fazio opened the scoring after ten minutes, before Alvaro Negredo netted a brace to confirm the result before the referee blew up for half time.

SPORTING GIJON 3-2 LEVANTE

Sporting gave themselves a glimmer of hope of surviving the drop as they managed to overcome a Levante side that refuse to give up the ghost of competing in Europe next season.

Sporting showed great resilience to come from behind twice, as Valdo and Arouna Kone scored either side of Oscar Trejo’s first equaliser. But Lora brought Sporting level again 15 minutes from time, and the day was made even sweeter when Gaston Sangoy netted a vital winner with six minutes remaining, to keep the dream of Primera Liga football next season alive.

VALENCIA 4-1 RAYO VALLECANO

After a poor recent set of results, Valencia strengthened their grip on third with a dominant victory over Rayo. Goals have been hard to come by for Valencia in recent weeks, but they flowed easily at Mestalla, with Jonas ending his lengthy goal drought five minutes before half time.

Jordi Alba doubled the advantage after 68 minutes, before Diego Costa brought the visitors back in with a shout two minutes later. That hope was not to last long however, as Jonas added his second of the game from the penalty spot, before Pablo Hernandez made sure of the result five minutes from time.

OSASUNA 2-0 ESPANYOL

Osasuna got back to winning ways after their humiliation at the hands of Rayo Vallecano, as they dealt with fellow European chasers Espanyol in a match made comfortable due to the visitors ill-discipline.

Raul Garcia got both goals to continue his fine season, with his strikes broken up by the dismissal of Phillippe Coutinho for a second bookable offence. Things were to get even worse for Espanyol in the final ten minutes, as they were reduced to nine men when Forlin saw red, also for picking up two yellow cards.

GRANADA 2-2 ATHLETIC BILBAO

Athletic’s European ambitions have stuttered in recent weeks, as they have become preoccupied with their current Europa League campaign. They did manage to salvage something from this game with struggling Granada, coming from two goals down to secure a point.

Jaime had given Granada an early lead, as he netted after just two minutes, but soon went from hero to villain as he saw red before the half time whistle went. But Granada maintained their lead, and doubled it through Alexandre Geijo with 15 minutes remaining.

But Athletic managed a stunning fight-back in the final ten minutes of the game, as Fernando Llorente and Markel Susaeta scored to ensure a share of the spoils.

RACING SANTANDER 0-3 MALLORCA

It’s all looking hopeless for Racing Santander currently, as they are cut well adrift at the bottom of the table and time running out for them to salvage their survival. Another hapless performance at home to a Mallorca side that are usually so poor on their travels saw the gap between Racing and safety grow even further.

Emilio Nsue ensured Racing got off to the worst possible start as he netted in the first minute, before early second half strikes from Chori Castro and Alejandro Alfaro sealed an emphatic victory that sees Mallorca reach the 40 point mark that should see their survival assured. Unlike their hosts.

REAL SOCIEDAD 1-1 REAL BETIS

Both these sides have essentially secured their place in the top flight for next season and played out a draw in the Anoeta sunshine. Carlos Vela continued his recent fine form by opening the scoring in the 56^th minute, but a the points were shared as another in-form striker in Ruben Castro levelled the scores with 20 minutes to go.