Raul treble lifts Real to 4-2 win at Sevilla
Barca, who play the champions in Madrid next weekend, were held to a 2-2 draw at fourth-placed Valencia on Saturday and Real took advantage to move to 78 points with five games to play.
Third-palced Sevilla went ahead in the 17th minute when midfielder Renato nipped in front of his marker to head Diego Perotti’s cross past Iker Casillas from close range.Gonzalo Higuain had two good chances to equalise before Raul turned in a low cross from Christoph Metzelder just before halftime.
The 31-year-old striker hooked in a deflected cross on 63 minutes and pounced on a fumble by Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop to make it 3-1 three minutes later.
Substitute Diego Capel pulled one back with just under 10 minutes left before Marcelo raced clear to score Real’s fourth and seal their 16th win in 17 matches since a 2-0 defeat at Barca’s Nou Camp in December.
Villarreal won 2-1 at Getafe to keep alive their chances of returning to next season’s Champions League.
First-half strikes from Joan Capdevila and Joseba Llorente put the visitors in control and both sides had a player sent off midway through the second half.
Manu del Moral pulled one back from the penalty spot late on as Getafe finished strongly.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side are fifth with 55 points, one behind Valencia and two adrift of Sevilla, who suffered their fourth straight defeat.
King’s Cup finalists Athletic Bilbao won a stormy encounter against north-coast rivals Racing Santander 2-1 when five players were sent off during the second half, three from Racing and two from Athletic.
At the foot of the table, Espanyol pulled clear of the relegation places with a 2-0 home win over Real Betis.
They climbed to 16th with 35 points, one ahead of Getafe and two clear of Sporting Gijon, who visit Atletico Madrid in Sunday’s late game.
Recreativo Huelva are 19th with 30 points, after a 4-2 home defeat by Real Mallorca, two above Numancia.