Robinho had only been on the pitch for 23 seconds when the ball fell to him just inside the box and he curled a low shot past Stefano Sorrentino to give Bernd Schuster's side the lead in a hard-fought match.

And the former Santos forward struck a third for Real in the dying seconds to wrap up an important victory for the champions, despite a late Recre consolation.

Sergio Aguero produced a scintillating performance as Atletico put their recent woes aside to stun title-chasing Barca.

Aguero scored twice and created Atletico's other two goals as the hosts shook off the dire form that had seen them lose four of their previous six league fixtures, and knocked out of both the UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey.

Second-placed Barca, who won this corresponding fixture 6-0 last season, scored both first and last through Ronaldinho's brilliant overhead kick and then Samuel Eto'o, but it was not enough to prevent them falling five points adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

Deportivo La Coruna took a big step towards avoiding the drop with a 2-1 win against Champions League hopefuls Sevilla at Riazor on Saturday.

Frederic Kanoute had given the visitors a deserved lead in the 25th minute, but Sevilla let the game slip away as Christian Wilhelmsson levelled matters from the penalty spot after 33 minutes before Angel Lafita struck the winner with 25 minutes to play.