SOCCER:ANDRES INIESTA and Gerard Pique scored to give Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol at the Camp Nou yesterday which left them a point away from their third consecutive La Liga title.
Second-placed Real Madrids 6-2 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday had denied Barca the chance to win the championship in front of their own fans, but they showed few signs of nerves as they calmly dispatched their neighbours.
The Champions League finalists climbed to 91 points and restored their eight-point lead with three games left, needing only a draw at Levante on Wednesday to wrap up the title unless Real slip up at home to Getafe tomorrow.
Spain midfielder Iniesta slalomed his way into the area to beat Carlos Kameni at his near post after 29 minutes and his international team mate Pique nodded in at the near post from a corner just after the re-start.
One of the biggest cheers of the day for home fans was for Eric Abidal when the French fullback came on for the last 20 minutes as he continued his recovery from surgery on a liver tumour.
Earlier, Villarreal were held to a dull 0-0 draw at Real Mallorca which damaged their chances of securing automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League. Juan Carlos Garrido’s team, who were knocked out of the Europa League at the semi-final stage by Porto on Thursday, stayed fourth in the standings with 61 points and three games left after a rare midday kick-off.
Villarreal slipped five points behind local rivals Valencia in third, who were 3-0 winners over Real Sociedad on Saturday, but they pulled seven points ahead of fifth place.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as Real Madrid romped to a 6-2 La Liga win at Sevilla. Ronaldo took his league tally for the season to 33, two ahead of Lionel Messi, and gave second-placed Real 83 points with three matches left.
Roberto Soldado was the hero for Valencia with a double strike. Soldado slotted home from close range after a low cross from Juan Mata in the 16th minute and, after Jonas had doubled the lead in the 25th, the striker powered in a header for his 16th goal of the campaign before the break.
At the bottom, a 2-0 defeat for Almeria at Getafe meant they were relegated while second from bottom Hercules are close to joining them after a 3-2 defeat by Racing Santander.
Athletic Bilbao survived a late comeback from Levante to secure a 3-2 home win that kept them in pole position for the first of the three Europa League places in fifth spot thanks to goals from Gaizka Toquero, David Lopez (penalty) and Fernando Llorente.
