Brief reports of Primera Liga matches played on Sunday:
ALBACETE 1 MALAGA 2
A sixth straight defeat left unlucky Albacete staring relegation in the face as they dropped 10 points adrift of safety with just six games left to play.
The Manchegos fell behind eight minutes into the second half when Portuguese midfielder Duda cracked a left-foot shot low into the corner from just outside the area in his side's first real attack of the game.
Uruguayan striker
Antonio Pacheco equalised with a powerful long-range shot soon after but his effort was to no avail as Br
azilian forward Marcio Amoroso converted a penalty six minutes from time after being brought down by defender
Oscar Montiel.
BARCELONA 2 GETAFE 0
Barca withstood the pressure from Real Madrid when they matched their rivals' earlier victory over Levante with one of their own against Getafe.
In the absnece of injured leading striker
Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho set the Catalans on the way to victory when he curled a sweetly struck free kick around the wall and into the corner on the half hour.
The Br
azilian then provided a marvellous assist for Ludovic Giuly to make it 2-0 early in the second half when he unlocked the Getafe defence with a clever disguised pass.
LEVANTE 0 REAL MADRID 2
A classy
Ronaldo double and some superb goalkeeping from
Iker Casillas helped Real keep the pressure on title rivals Barcelona at the top of the table.
The Br
azilian smashed home from six metres after
Michel Salgado had burst down the right flank late in the first half but
Casillas produced two spectacular stops to prevent Levante equalising before the break.
Ronaldo made sure of the points when he charged on to a first-time pass from substitute
Luis Figo, swerved past keeper Juan Luis Mora and guided the ball into the empty net seven minutes from the end.
RACING SANTANDER 0 ATHLETIC BILBAO 2
A controversial victory for Bilbao that came after the linesman signalled a penalty for a seemingly non-existent handball five minutes into injury time.
Pablo Orbaiz scored from the spot but there was still time for fellow midfielder Tiko to grab a second on the break when he curled a shot into the empty net after Racing keeper Dudu Aouate had raced upfield as his side went in search of an equaliser.
Racing's misery was compounded when substitute Jonathan was sent off in stoppage time.
REAL MALLORCA 0 VALENCIA 0
A drab game at Son Moix ended in a goalless draw that did neither side any favours. Last season's champions Valencia remain a point off the European places, while the islanders are still nine adrift of safety.
Valencia lacked any creativity without the presence of Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar, who was injured in the warm-up, while Mallorca had no fire power up front.
REAL ZARAGOZA 4 NUMANCIA 1
Numancia were left teetering on the brink of relegation after this crushing defeat at Zaragoza.
Striker David Villa did not open the scoring until the 64th minute when he turned in a low pass from Luciano Galletti, although his goal was cancelled out immediately when Cani drilled into his own net.
Villa struck again three minutes later to make it 2-1 and Numancia had hardly recovered before midfielder Leonardo Ponzio drilled in a third. Br
azilian forward
Savio wrapped up the win late on with a cool finish after beating the offside trap.
VILLARREAL 0 REAL BETIS 0
Villarreal dominated most of the match against fellow high-flyers Betis but failed to notch up a ninth consecutive home win after failing to finish a host of promising moves.
The outstanding Juan Roman Riquelme rattled the bar with a powerful shot early in the second half but Betis also went close when set-piece expert Marcos Assuncao forced a fine save from keeper
Pepe Reina with a curling free kick.
Played on Saturday:
ATLETICO MADRID 0 ESPANYOL 0
Both sides missed an opportunity to boost their chances of qualifying for Europe, but it took some superb keeping from Espanyol's Carlos Kameni to stop Atletico making off with the points.
The Cameroon international, who had a banana thrown at him by an Atletico fan in the first half, guessed right to save a penalty from Fernando
Torres after defender Toni Soldevilla had handled in the area just after the hour.
He then produced a superb reflex save to deny the Atletico striker again in the closing minutes when he scooped a goal-bound header off the line.
SEVILLA 0 OSASUNA 1
Sevilla missed their chance to steal a march on their rivals for a Champions League place with this costly defeat at home to struggling Osasuna.
Uruguayan striker Richard Morales grabbed the winner with a classy volley midway through the first half to put the finishing touch to a slick counter attack and allow the Navarrans to ease their relegation worries with a second win of the year.
REAL SOCIEDAD 1 DEPORTIVO CORUNA 0
Defeat at Anoeta left Deportivo with a lot of work to do if they are to qualify for the Champions League for a sixth season in succession.
The Galicians fell victim to an early goal from Sociedad midfielder Gari Uranga who gave his side a deserved lead with a marvellous diving header after defender Javier
Garrido had whipped in a cross from the left.