Real Madrid beat Malaga 1-0 to remain clear at the top of
La Liga, while rivals Atletico also edged past visitors Espanyol 1-0 on
Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 25th league goal of the season was
the difference between the two sides at La Rosaleda, as Carlo Ancelotti's men
continued to set the pace at the La Liga summit ahead of El Clasico against
Barcelona next weekend.
After falling to a surprising 3-2 loss at Malaga last
season, Real looked determined to avoid a repeat this year.
But they were still made to work hard for the win, which
came via Ronaldo's precise finish in the 23rd minute, as he fired into the
bottom-right corner.
The Ballon d'Or winner could have made it more
comfortable when he headed narrowly wide just prior to the break, but this time
he missed the target.
After their UEFA Champions League triumph against Milan
in the week, Atletico looked sluggish at Vicente Calderon, with Espanyol
proving to be sterner opponents than expected in their 1-0 win.
Clear chances were few and far between for long spells,
with David Villa denied by visiting goalkeeper Kiko Casilla in a rare early
opportunity.
But Diego Costa finally grabbed his 22nd La Liga goal of
the campaign after showing a superb burst of pace to give the home side the
victory they needed and keep their title bid alive.
Elsewhere, Rayo Vallecano gave their survival hopes a
boost by beating fellow strugglers Almeria 3-1 at Estadio de Vallecas.
Alberto Bueno and Joaquin Larrivey put the hosts 2-0 up
by the hour mark and although Fernando Soriano pulled one back, Rayo killed the
game off 13 minutes from the end when Larrivey netted his second of the match.
That ended Almeria's hopes of a comeback as Rayo moved
three points ahead of their 19th-placed visitors.
Celta Vigo opened up a healthy gap between themselves and
the bottom three thanks to a valuable 1-0 win at Levante in Saturday's early
kick-off.
Nolito's back-post tap-in from Augusto Fernandez's cross
was enough for the visitors as David Barral missed his 61st-minute penalty for
Levante.
Culled from Soccerway
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