Barcelona are now nine points clear at the top of La Liga after beating second placed Atlético Madrid 4-1 on Sunday. Messi bagged a brace with Correia and Busquets scoring one each in a dominant performance by the Catalans. Falcao was once again on the scoresheet for Atlético.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid lost ground after a 2-2 draw with Espanyol. Sergio Garcia put Espanyol into the lead but goals from Ronaldo and Coentrao turned things around. However, a late goal from Albin meant the points were shared and Real now find themselves thirteen points adrift of the leaders.
A second half penalty from Dominguez was enough to see Rayo Vallecano snatch victory over struggling Valencia.