Real Madrid are now ten points clear at the top of La Liga after goals from Raúl and Higuaín gave them a 2-0 victory over Racing Santander.
Villarreal move back up into second place with a 2-0 victory against Valladolid, Nihat and Cazorla the scorers.
Valencia came down to earth with a thud after their midweek Copa del Rey triumph, hammered 5-1 by Athletic Bilbao and are now just two points above the drop zone. Raúl Albiol started the ball rolling, into his own net, and Llorente then got two, one either side of half-time, to make it 3-0. David Villa pulled one back for Valencia but Iraola and Aduríz went on to complete the rout.
In Division 2, the Blue and Whites inched ever closer to promotion with a 0-0 draw at Racing Ferrol, the match played in somewhat soggy conditions.
Leaders Numancia were beaten 1-0 by Cádiz after a late goal from Dani but are still six points clear. Sporting Gijón consolidated their third place with a convincing 4-1 win over Sevilla Atlético, two goals from Kike Mateo and one each for Jorge and Bilic.
CD Nerja move up to seventh spot in Primera Andaluza Grupo 3 after a 2-0 victory over bottom placed Jódar Al-Andalus. The top three all won, CD Ronda beating Manilva 3-1, Estepona thrashing Tugia 7-1 and Torremolinos scraping past Baeza CF 1-0.