A stylish Barcelona sent a message to Real Madrid that they are ready to fight to keep their La Liga title after cruising to a 4-0 win over Real Zaragoza — even if Madrid responded with a hard-fought 3-2 success over Valencia to preserve their three-point cushion.
The pressure was on Real, who had Barcelona breathing down their necks after their earlier 4-0 win over Zaragoza, but the Meringues produced a battling display against a Valencia side who pushed them all the way after the break.
Real have been setting the pace at the top of the table and they opened up a three-point lead before the international break when a lackluster Barcelona were lucky to draw away to Athletic Bilbao.
Photo: Reuters
However, in front of a packed Camp Nou, Barca gave a -rendition of attacking soccer, pressing forward from the start against a Zaragoza side who have only won two games all season.
Barca were finding it difficult to find a cutting edge though until they managed it in a way not associated with Barca’s passing soccer, as Gerard Pique headed home a Xavi Hernandez free-kick.
Lionel Messi was a doubt until the last minute following a draining trip to play for Argentina, but he was given the nod to play and was at his tantalizing best.
He should have scored when he tried a flamboyant effort in front of the goalkeeper instead of making sure, but he made no mistake two minutes before halftime, finishing clinically.
Carlos Puyol knocked in a scrappy third, while David Villa completed a comprehensive win with a header 15 minutes from the end.
Real’s championship credentials were closely examined by Valencia, who could have slid off third spot yesterday if Levante UD were to see off Atletico Madrid.
Karim Benzema gave Real a 20th-minute lead and Sergio Ramos made it 2-0, heading in with 18 minutes left.
However, former Real striker Roberto Soldado pulled one back before Cristiano Ronaldo burst through to finish from an acute angle on 79 minutes after a mistake by Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves, who recklessly came off his line.
Soldado responded with a second, but to no avail in a frantic finale that saw the forward have a goal disallowed in the 89th minute for offside, while Valencia, on a roll of four straight wins beforehand, also had a penalty claim turned down in injury-time as Jose Mourinho’s men held on for victory.
Meanwhile, a Borja Valero strike gave injury-plagued Villarreal a 1-0 victory over Real Betis Balompie, whose slump continues as they have now won just once in seven games.
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