The contenders for the Spanish title have all suffered from indifferent form since the winter break but they appear to be hitting peak performance at just the right time.

Defending champions Barca continue to lead the way after a 1-0 win against Levante at the Nou Camp.

Although they were far from their best, Frank Rijkaard's men did enough to take the points thanks to Samuel Eto'o's 28th-minute goal.

Sevilla are second, a point behind the Catalans, after beating Espanyol 3-1.

Juande Ramos' side, who could meet Espanyol in the UEFA Cup final next month, cruised into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Antonio Puerta and Ernesto Chevanton.

Ferran Coro pulled one back but the Andalusians sealed it when Jose Luis Marti netted with 15 minutes to go.

Arguably the best performance of the weekend came from Madrid, who won 4-1 at Athletic Bilbao in the evening game.

Fabio Capello's side looked supremely confident in a first half they dominated, going two goals up through Sergio Ramos and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy added his second after the break and even though Fernando Llorente pulled one back, Guti's clever finish late on handed the capital club an emphatic victory.

They remain a point adrift of Sevilla.

Valencia strengthened their Champions League claims with a 2-0 defeat of Recreativo Huelva on Saturday - Spain winger Joaquin grabbing both goals.

Real Zaragoza could have reclaimed fourth spot on Sunday but were held to a 2-2 draw at Osasuna.

Juanlu and Valmiro Valdo twice put the Pamplona-based side ahead but Zaragoza hit back with goals from Pablo Aimar and Sergio Garcia, the latter coming in the final minute.

Atletico Madrid remain in sixth after a goalless draw at home to Real Betis on Saturday.

Racing Santander remain in UEFA Cup contention despite a goalless stalemate at home to Deportivo La Coruna.

Gimnastic's slide towards the Segunda Division shows no sign of slowing after Villarreal cruised to a 3-0 win in Tarragona.

Diego Forlan scored twice for the visitors with Matias Fernandez adding a third in the final minute.

Nastic are six points adrift of safety with six games remaining.

Second-bottom Real Sociedad's hopes of staying in the top flight were hit by a 1-0 defeat at Getafe - defender Alexis scoring the only goal with 19 minutes to go.

Celta Vigo, who are third from bottom, also remain in trouble after a 3-0 defeat at home to Real Mallorca.

Juan Arango opened the scoring with Fernando Varela and Maxi Lopez also on target.