Barcelona proved they are not about to relinquish their Primera Liga title without a fight as they hammered Atletico Madrid 6-0 at the Vicente Calderon to keep pace with leaders Real Madrid.
Madrid had earlier in the day clinched a dramatic 3-2 win at Recreativo Huelva to put the pressure firmly on the Catalans.
But Frank Rijkaard`s men responded in the best way possible with a sparkling display in the capital as they hammered a hapless Atletico side to move back level on points with Madrid although Fabio Capello`s side still lead the way thanks to their better head-to-head record.
Barca were set on their way with three goals in the last six minutes of the first half from Lionel Messi, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto'o.
With Atletico in tatters, Ronaldinho struck a fourth in the 58th minute, Messi added a fifth five minutes from time, and Andres Iniesta completed the rout at the end.
A shambolic Atletico, who remain sixth and in the UEFA Cup places, finished with 10 men after Brazilian defender Fabiano Eller was sent off for his second yellow in the 72nd minute.
If that was one-sided, Madrid`s win at Recre was anything but.
A week after Gonzalo Higuain scored a last-gasp goal to give the Spanish giants all three points against Espanyol, Capello's men did it the hard way again after surrendering a two-goal lead.
Robinho's first-half strike and a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty had put the visitors in control, but an Antonio Jesus Vazquez penalty and a poacher's goal from substitute Ikechukwu Uche looked to have salvaged a point for Recreativo.
But veteran Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos grabbed a counter-attack winner in injury-time to spark wild celebrations on the Madrid bench.
Sevilla maintained their challenge with a 2-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna.
Just four days after retaining the UEFA Cup with a penalty shoot-out defeat of Espanyol in Glasgow, the Andalusians were victorious once more with Fredi Kanoute`s 83rd-minute goal proving decisive.
Rodolfo Bodipo had put Depor ahead before Renato equalised with 14 minutes to go.
Juande Ramos` side are two points behind Madrid and Barca with three games remaining.
Fourth-placed Valencia beat Real Mallorca 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Joaquin`s last-gasp goal.
Also on Saturday, Real Zaragoza strengthened their hold on a UEFA Cup place after edging out relegation-threatened Athletic Bilbao in a 4-3 thriller.
That result gave hope to several teams at the bottom and Real Sociedad were the chief beneficiaries on Sunday after a 3-1 defeat of fellow strugglers Celta Vigo.
Gustavo Lopez gave the visitors a lead they thoroughly merited after 20 minutes but goals after the break from Darko Kovacevic, Savio Bortolini and Aitor Lopez Rekarte settled an absorbing encounter.
The result means Sociedad are now just a point behind Bilbao, who hold the last position of safety, while Celta are four points adrift.
Levante are just three points above the drop zone after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home to Osasuna.
The visitors took full advantage of the early dismissal of Levante goalkeeper Jose Molina for deliberate handball outside his area to cruise to victory.
Raul Garcia added to three strikes from Roberto Soldado - the third an outstanding effort from his own half - while Inaki Descarga managed to get on the scoresheet for Levante.
Gimnastic Tarragona's last hopes of staying in the Primera Liga look to have faded on Saturday after they were held 1-1 by Real Betis.
Both goals came in stoppage time with Javier Portillo opening the scoring for Nastic from the penalty spot.
However, Xisco Munoz equalised for the Andalusians, who had been reduced to 10 men by the sending-off of Johann Vogel for two yellow cards in quick succession.
Nastic are nine points adrift of Athletic and safety.
Villarreal maintained their challenge to play in next season`s UEFA Cup with a 2-1 defeat of Racing Santander while Espanyol`s miserable week was capped with a 5-1 hammering at home to Getafe.
But Frank Rijkaard`s men responded in the best way possible with a sparkling display in the capital as they hammered a hapless Atletico side to move back level on points with Madrid although Fabio Capello`s side still lead the way thanks to their better head-to-head record.
Barca were set on their way with three goals in the last six minutes of the first half from Lionel Messi, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto'o.
With Atletico in tatters, Ronaldinho struck a fourth in the 58th minute, Messi added a fifth five minutes from time, and Andres Iniesta completed the rout at the end.
A shambolic Atletico, who remain sixth and in the UEFA Cup places, finished with 10 men after Brazilian defender Fabiano Eller was sent off for his second yellow in the 72nd minute.
If that was one-sided, Madrid`s win at Recre was anything but.
A week after Gonzalo Higuain scored a last-gasp goal to give the Spanish giants all three points against Espanyol, Capello's men did it the hard way again after surrendering a two-goal lead.
Robinho's first-half strike and a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty had put the visitors in control, but an Antonio Jesus Vazquez penalty and a poacher's goal from substitute Ikechukwu Uche looked to have salvaged a point for Recreativo.
But veteran Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos grabbed a counter-attack winner in injury-time to spark wild celebrations on the Madrid bench.
Sevilla maintained their challenge with a 2-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna.
Just four days after retaining the UEFA Cup with a penalty shoot-out defeat of Espanyol in Glasgow, the Andalusians were victorious once more with Fredi Kanoute`s 83rd-minute goal proving decisive.
Rodolfo Bodipo had put Depor ahead before Renato equalised with 14 minutes to go.
Juande Ramos` side are two points behind Madrid and Barca with three games remaining.
Fourth-placed Valencia beat Real Mallorca 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Joaquin`s last-gasp goal.
Also on Saturday, Real Zaragoza strengthened their hold on a UEFA Cup place after edging out relegation-threatened Athletic Bilbao in a 4-3 thriller.
That result gave hope to several teams at the bottom and Real Sociedad were the chief beneficiaries on Sunday after a 3-1 defeat of fellow strugglers Celta Vigo.
Gustavo Lopez gave the visitors a lead they thoroughly merited after 20 minutes but goals after the break from Darko Kovacevic, Savio Bortolini and Aitor Lopez Rekarte settled an absorbing encounter.
The result means Sociedad are now just a point behind Bilbao, who hold the last position of safety, while Celta are four points adrift.
Levante are just three points above the drop zone after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home to Osasuna.
The visitors took full advantage of the early dismissal of Levante goalkeeper Jose Molina for deliberate handball outside his area to cruise to victory.
Raul Garcia added to three strikes from Roberto Soldado - the third an outstanding effort from his own half - while Inaki Descarga managed to get on the scoresheet for Levante.
Gimnastic Tarragona's last hopes of staying in the Primera Liga look to have faded on Saturday after they were held 1-1 by Real Betis.
Both goals came in stoppage time with Javier Portillo opening the scoring for Nastic from the penalty spot.
However, Xisco Munoz equalised for the Andalusians, who had been reduced to 10 men by the sending-off of Johann Vogel for two yellow cards in quick succession.
Nastic are nine points adrift of Athletic and safety.
Villarreal maintained their challenge to play in next season`s UEFA Cup with a 2-1 defeat of Racing Santander while Espanyol`s miserable week was capped with a 5-1 hammering at home to Getafe.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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