Málaga’s assault on third place in La Liga suffered a setback on Saturday evening as they lost 0-2 to Real Betis, the goals scored by Castro and Dorado.
Barcelona, meanwhile, kept up the pressure on the leaders Real Madrid with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao courtesy of Iniesta and Messi from the penalty spot. Six points is the gap at the top and there are eight games remaining.
The odds must be very much in favour of Madrid to win the title.