Barcelona grab third place after Depor slip-up
Barcelona made the most of a slip-up by Deportivo Coruna to overtake the Galicians and climb into third place in the table with a 2-0 victory over basement club Murcia on Sunday.
Barcelona made the most of a slip-up by Deportivo Coruna to overtake the Galicians and climb into third place in the table with a 2-0 victory over basement club Murcia on Sunday.
Frank Rijkaard's side notched up their eighth win in a row thanks to an early strike from Argentine striker Javier Saviola and a pin-point shot from Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho just after the hour.
Earlier, Deportivo missed their chance to make up ground on leaders Real Madrid when they went down 4-2 at struggling Real Mallorca.
Champions Real Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Racing Santander on Saturday, lead the table on 61 points, seven ahead of Valencia, who play struggling Celta Vigo in Sunday's late match.
Barca are just two points further adrift in third, two ahead of fourth-placed Deportivo.
Mallorca, who had not won in their last six outings, got off to a great start at Son Moix when the unmarked Fernando Correa smashed in on the volley on seven minutes after good work by fellow striker Andrija Delibasic on the right.
Depor managed to draw level on 23 minutes when winger Pedro Munitis netted from close range, but a headed goal from defender Ivan Ramis and a penalty from Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o put the home side 3-1 up on the hour.
Deportivo substitute Djalminha pulled one back nine minutes from time, but Mallorca forward Jesus Parera put the result beyond doubt when he drilled under keeper Jose Molina after Eto'o had battled his way through the midfield.
Depor's misery was compounded when defender Ceasar was sent off for a second booking in injury time.
At the other end of the table, Murcia's defeat against Barcelona leaves them heading for a rapid return to the second division, while Espanyol's bid to escape from the drop zone suffered a setback when they lost 1-0 at home to Racing Santander.
Sunday's matches were preceded by a minute's silence in memory of the 200 victims of Thursday's train bombings in Madrid, with every player wearing a black armband.