No change in Spain as top four triumph

FC Barcelona went a step closer to claiming the BBVA Primera Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 win away to Zaragoza this Sunday in matchday 31 of the Spanish top soccer league.

Thiago Alcantara opened thescoring for Barcelona.

Barca rested players such as Leo Messi, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alves and Sergio Busquets, but were still too good for Zaragoza, who are now in the relegation zone, as fringe players Thiago Alcantara and Christian Tello stepped to the fore.

Thiago opened the scoring after 20 minutes when he finished off a quick counter-attack and then set up Tello to score Barca's second six minutes before the break.

Tello scored his second of the night after 52 minutes to end any chances Zaragoza had of getting back into the game and the good news continued for Barca when Eric Abidal made his second appearance in just over a week after his liver transplant operation 13 months ago.

Real Madrid remain second after their 3-0 win away to Athletic Club Bilbao. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the second minute with a trademark free kick and added the second with a powerful header after 68 minutes.

Athletic had played well until then, but the second goal saw tiredness set in and Gonzalo Higuain added his side's third after a neat Ronaldo pass.

Atletico Madrid's impressive season continued with an easy 5-0 win against a poor Granada side that has taken just two points from their last eight games.

Diego Costa opened the scoring after just four minutes and Radamel Falcao doubled Atletico's lead before halftime. Falcao scored his second of the game two minutes after half time and Raul Garcia made it 4-0 just after the hour, before Felipe Luis added a fifth with 20 minutes remaining as Granada fell apart.

Two goals from Real Sociedad striker, Imanol Agirretxe in the first 15 minutes of their visit to play Rayo Vallecano in the Vallecas Stadium gave his side a valuable 2-0 win to see them open up a gap in fourth place.

The Basque side are now clear favorites to qualify for next season's Champions League after another impressive display which probably ended Rayo's chances of playing in Europe next season.

Saturday saw Deportivo la Coruna take their fourth consecutive win as they crushed Levante 4-0, thanks mainly to three goals in the first 28 minutes as Juan Carlos Valeron, Pizzi and Nelson Oliveira took advantage of some poor defending, before Bruno Gama added Deportivo's fourth in injury time.

Valladolid are almost safe from relegation after coming back from a goal down to beat Getafe 2-1. Oscar Gonzalez and Javi Guerra scored for the home side to cancel out Paco Alcazar's opener for the visitors on the stroke of halftime.

Espanyol and Valencia produced a six goal thriller with four of the goals coming in the last 10 minutes. Mubarak Wakaso and Joan Verdu, who scored in the 82nd minute twice gave Espanyol the lead, but Sergio Canales and Jonas Goncalves, who made it 2-2 in the 87th minute, twice drew Valencia level before Roberto Soldado seemed to have given them three valuable points in their quest for a top-four finish in the first minute of injury time.

Nevertheless, Sergio Garcia's seventh goal of the season saw the points shared in a dramatic finish.

Malaga received the homage of their fans for their Champions League campaign ahead of their game at home to Osasuna and rewarded their loyalty with a 1-0 win thanks to a Julio Cesar Baptista goal in injury time.

Friday night saw the Seville derby in which Betis maintained their hopes of a top four finish with another great fightback as they took a 3-3 draw after trailing 0-3 at home to their bitter local rivals Sevilla and the round of matches ends on Monday with a key relegation battle between Mallorca and Celta Vigo.

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