Spain round-up: Madrid tighten grip on title

Real Madrid CF comfortably defeated Real Racing Club Santander 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium on Saturday night to consolidate their lead at the top of the Primera División.

Penalty opener
Luis Figo opened the scoring, converting a penalty after Ronaldo had been brought down attempting to follow up a shot from Raúl González in the 13th minute. Shortly before the break, Zinedine Zidane extended the lead, arriving at the far post to head in a Figo free-kick.

Deflected goal
Racing, now under the charge of president-coach Dimitri Piterman, began the second half in positive fashion, as French midfield player Mehdi Nafti pulled a goal back from the edge of the area when his low drive took a deflection.

Portillo tap-in
Young substitute Javier Portillo made the game safe for Madrid, however, tapping in his 12th of the season from Raúl's pass. Fellow replacement Guti completed the victory, curling in a left-foot shot from the edge of the area with just over ten minutes remaining.

Deportivo win
Madrid, who face AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, are now three points clear of RC Deportivo La Coruña, who leapfrogged Valencia CF into second place courtesy of a 2-1 defeat of Villarreal CF.

Víctor winner
However, Deportivo had to recover from an early setback, as Jorge López’s penalty gave Villarreal the lead in the eleventh-minute. Diego Tristán levelled with another spot-kick after he was brought down by Brazilian defender Juliano Belletti, before Víctor then claimed the decisive second after a mistake by goalkeeper José Manuel Reina, scoring from close range after Tristán’s header had been parried.

Valencia blow
Club Atlético Madrid dented Valencia’s hopes of retaining their title by defeating Rafael Benítez’s side 1-0 at the Mestalla. Atlético's Carlos Aguilera was left unmarked at a corner and took full advantage, guiding a header past Spanish international goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares with 17 minutes remaining. Ruben Baraja nearly equalised for the home side five minutes later, only to see his header cannon back off the crossbar.

Barcelona held
FC Barcelona’s revival under Radomir Antic stalled as they were forced to share the points for the second consecutive weekend, drawing 1-1 with Real Valladolid in a match marked by own goals at either end.

Defensive errors
Marc Overmars forced the first error from Valladolid defender Javier Torres Gómez, whose attempt to block the Dutchman’s effort rebounded into his own net in the 29th minute. The visitors equalised at the outset of the second half, as Barcelona goalkeeper Roberto Bonano could only deflect Nicolas Olivera's corner into his own net.

Sunday matches
Real Sociedad can return to second place with a win in their match with Deportivo Alavés on Sunday, while UEFA Cup quarter-finalists Málaga CF take on Athletic Club Bilbao at La Rosaleda and RC Celta de Vigo aim to maintain their challenge for a European place against Rayo Vallecano. Elsewhere, RC Recreativo de Huelva and RCD Espanyol meet in a crucial encounter at the bottom of the table, and eighth-placed Sevilla FC face Club Atlético Osasuna.