Barcelona and Atlético win again

There was no quarter given at the top of the Spanish Liga as FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid both registered wins to stay locked together at the head of the table.

The pressure was on after Real Madrid CF had edged the duo off the summit on Saturday, but Barcelona ended the weekend where they started it – in pole position on goal difference. After a pair of league draws, the Camp Nou side returned to winning ways by seeing off Málaga CF 3-0, Gerard Piqué driving them in front from inside the area before the break. Pedro Rodríguez doubled the advantage on 55 minutes and Alexis Sánchez wrapped up the points six minutes later.

Earlier in the evening, Atlético had gone briefly top with a 4-2 win at second-bottom Rayo Vallecano de Madrid. David Villa put the visitors ahead eight minutes in, but the hosts spurned the chance to level when Jonathan Viera missed from the penalty spot four minutes later. Arda Turan struck twice ahead of the interval, either side of Viera's 40th-minute response, and Diego Costa turned in a Filipe Luís cross with 16 minutes remaining, before Joaquin Larrivey hit a second for the capital side.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed Athletic Club recorded a commanding 5-1 win at CA Osasuna, who lost Alejandro Arribas to a 76th-minute red card. A pair of Aritz Aduriz goals had helped the visitors into a 3-1 lead, before Ibai Gómez and Kike Sola completed the scoring. Lastly, UD Almería moved up to 15th courtesy of a 1-0 success against Getafe CF.