Real Madrid re-established their ten-point Liga lead in emphatic fashion thanks to a 5-0 thrashing of Espanyol.
Looking to respond to FC Barcelona’s 3-1 win against Real Sporting de Gijón on Saturday, Madrid took the lead after 23 minutes thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 30th league goal of the season, the Portugal forward slotting in from the left after being set up by Gonzalo Higuaín. Sami Khedira made it 2-0 a quarter of an hour later and Higuaín quickly added the third after the restart, going on to double his tally following a Kaká strike on 66 minutes.
The win was the Real Madrid’s tenth consecutive Liga win this season and maintained their comfortable advantage in the title race.
Fourteen points behind Barcelona in third are Valencia who had Sofiane Feghouli to thank for their 1-0 victory at struggling Granada. Athletic Bilbao is ahead of upstart Malaga for the fourth and final Champions League place.
One point above the relegation zone is Villarreal, whose miserable season continues as they lost 2-1 at bottom club Real Zaragoza. Villarreal are three points ahead of Racing Santander and every week I expect them to start playing like the big club they are, and every week they continue to shock and disappoint.
| 2011-12 Table | |||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | GD | |
| Real Madrid | 25 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 67 | 85 | 21 | 64 | |
| Barcelona | 25 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 57 | 73 | 19 | 54 | |
| Valencia | 25 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 43 | 38 | 29 | 9 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | 25 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 37 | 41 | 32 | 9 | |
| Málaga | 25 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 37 | 36 | 37 | -1 | |
| Levante | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 34 | 35 | -1 | |
| Osasuna | 25 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 35 | 29 | 39 | -10 | |
| Rayo Vallecano | 25 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 34 | 36 | 38 | -2 | |
| Atlético Madrid | 25 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 33 | 34 | 31 | 3 | |
| Sevilla | 25 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 33 | 27 | 28 | -1 | |
| Espanyol Barcelona | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 33 | 27 | 34 | -7 | |
| Real Betis | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 30 | 28 | 32 | -4 | |
| Real Sociedad | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 27 | 36 | -9 | |
| Mallorca | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 29 | 24 | 30 | -6 | |
| Getafe | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 29 | 25 | 34 | -9 | |
| Granada | 25 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 22 | 35 | -13 | |
| Villarreal | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 26 | 38 | -12 | |
| Racing Santander | 25 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 24 | 21 | 35 | -14 | |
| Sporting de Gijón | 25 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 23 | 48 | -25 | |
| Zaragoza | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 46 | -25 | |