Cristiano Ronaldo struck his sixth Liga hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid came from behind
to beat ten-man Levante 4-2 and go ten points clear of Barcelona at the summit.
FC Barcelona were shocked 3-2 at Osasuna on Saturday, but Gustavo Cabral gave Levante an
unexpected fifth-minute lead it looked like Madrid would miss out on the opportunity to push their
lead into double digits.
Barcelona's shocking away form resulted in another loss last night, and with it any chance that
Barca has of retaining their La Liga title this season.
Barcelona have now dropped a staggering 16 points away from him in the league this season. As
incredible number. And a number that will cost Barca a chance to retain its La Liga crown.
Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta remains confident coach Pep Guardiola will
continue his successful spell at the helm.
However, he has confirmed the club have drawn up contingency plans should Guardiola decide to
leave the Nou Camp.
Zubizarreta is optimistic it will not come to that despite the Catalans, who visit Osasuna on
Saturday, trailing arch-rivals Real Madrid by seven points in the La Liga title race.
Latest edition of RealmadridTV's popular show "The Match" looks at this weekend's match between
Real Madrid and Levante
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is optimistic that manager Pep Guardiola will put sign a
contract extension soon.
Guardiola is known to prefer signing rolling one-year deals and with his current contract
expiring at the end of the season, the former Barca skipper has yet to give any clear indications
on his future at the Nou Camp.
Mirandés's remarkable Copa del Rey run came to an end at the semi-final stage after Athletic
Bilbao thrashed them 6-2 at home to complete an 8-3 aggregate success and book a place in the final
against either FC Barcelona or Valencia on 25 May.
Mirandés were bidding to become the first side from the Spanish third tier to reach the Copa
del Rey final after up-set victories over Villarreal, Real Racing Club and Espanyol en route to the
last four.
Not a surprise to hear that Sevilla have hired Jose Miguel Gonzalez, aka Michel, to become their
next coach after the firing of Marcelino Garcia Toral on Monday.
Michel will automatically receive an extension to the contract should he guide the 11th-placed
side to UEFA Champions League qualification.
Inigo Lopez grabbed a late winner for Granada to give their La Liga survival hopes a big boost
as they beat local rivals Malaga on Monday.
Malaga had the better early exchanges as the game started at a fast and furious pace with first
Enzo Maresca then Rondon shooting high and wide from good positions in the opening minutes.
Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oscar de Marcos insists his side will show Mirandes total respect on
Tuesday night as the two clubs clash in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Athletic, whose record of 23 Copa titles is second only to Barcelona (25), are favourites
heading into the semi-final second leg after earning a 2-1 lead from last week's first meeting at
Mirandes' Anduva stadium.
Sevilla have fired coach Marcelino García Toral after the 46-year-old failed to halt a run of
disappointing results.
Marcelino, who took charge last summer following the departure of Gregorio Manzano, leaves with
Sevilla 11th in the standings and just four points above the relegation zone.
A goal from Sergio Ramos was enough to gave Real Madrid a slender 1-0 win against city rivals
Getafe to maintain their seven-point lead over title rivals Barcelona at the top of the Spanish
Liga.
The visitors dominated possession but created few clear-cut opportunities and the match was
eventually settled by Ramos's 18th-minute goal, the Spanish international defender meeting Mesut
Özil's corner with a flying header that powered into the top right coner.
Pablo Foley Elias & Tim Stannard preview Getafe v Real Madrid in the latest edition of "THE
MATCH" on Real Madrid TV.
When Atletico Madrid sold Sergio Aguero to England's Manchester City during the summer, there
was all sorts of rumors that Aguero really wanted to move to city rivals Real, but that Atletico
refused to sell him to their bitter rivals.
There were also rumors at the time that Aguero was only heading to Manchester for a season and
that in 2012 he would be heading back to the Madrid, this time to play for the the white side of
the capital.
It was a depleted Barcelona side that turned up in Valencia tonight, but it was also a team that
does't give and they got a credible 1-1 draw in their Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg. Barca will
be heavy favorites now to finish this tie off at the Camp Now.
Barca were given an early scare when Roberto Soldado raced onto a through ball, but Pinto came
racing out of his goal to slide in and clear the danger, appearing to use his hand as he did so,
only for play to be waved on.
Two goals from Fernando Llorente has given Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 first-leg advantage in their
Copa del Rey semi-final against giant-killers Mirandes, and seriously dented the Cinderella dreams
of the third division team.
Llorente scored twice in the first half to seemingly put Athletic firmly in control of this
tie.