Barça brushed aside in Madrid

By Andy Hall

Real Madrid CF emerged victorious in a six-goal thriller against rivals FC Barcelona to reduce the Primera División leaders' advantage to six points.

Early goals
Madrid sprung into action clearly aiming to score early, and the ploy which paid off when Zinedine Zidane launched himself to head the ball in at the far post after six minutes. Barça failed to pick up Ronaldo at the same post 13 minutes later, as he headed Madrid into a two-goal lead from David Beckham's free-kick.

Domination fails
The visitors managed to get back into the game on 24 minutes. Samuel Eto'o picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and poked in past Iker Casillas. Despite enjoying more possession, Frank Rijkaard's side found themselves further behind when Raúl González fired past Victor Valdés on the stroke of half-time.

Barça edge
Madrid's rearguard continued to frustrate Barcelona in the second half, and they extended their lead further just after the hour when Michael Owen raced through on goal and fired low under Valdés. Ronaldinho reduced the deficit with a curling free-kick and that strike could prove decisive should the two teams end the season level on points, as Barcelona would finish top on head-to-head record.

Sevilla third
Sevilla FC leapfrogged RCD Espanyol into third after defeating the Catalan side 3-1 in Montjuic. Jordi López put Sevilla in front on nine minutes before Julio Baptista added a second. Jonathan Soriano headed a goal back for Espanyol but Daniel Alves caught the home goalkeeper stranded to seal the win.

Lead lost twice
Consequently, Villarreal CF fell to fourth after César Arzo's late equaliser cancelled out Albert Luque's 64th-minute free-kick for RC Deportivo La Coruña. Real Betis Balompié are fifth after drawing 2-2 at home with Levante UD. Albert Rivera's 25th-minute effort cancelled out Edu's opener for Betis, but Ricardo Oliviera regained the southern side the lead when he nodded in Marco Assunçao's free-kick six minutes later, before Juanma restored parity on the hour.

Getafe survival boost
Elsewhere, two goals from Marco Di Vaio were not enough for Valencia CF to overcome Málaga CF, as their match ended 2-2, while Real Zaragoza came away from their visit to RCD Mallorca as 2-0 winners. CA Osasuna recorded a 1-0 win against Real Racing Club Santander and Getafe CF are now 15 points clear of the relegation zone after beating Albacete Balompié 1-0.