Barcelona turned in their most polished performance for a long while to claim a much-needed, 3-0 victory over Zaragoza in La Liga.
Javier Saviola headed in an Andres Iniesta cross for the first after 24 minutes and Ronaldinho made it 2-0 with a penalty in first-half injury-time after Luis Garcia had been brought down. Xavi rounded off the scoring from another Iniesta cross after 65 minutes.
Deportivo missed the chance to close up on the leaders as Racing Santander came from behind to take a well deserved point in their 1-1 draw.
Depor, the only team apart from the top two in with a realistic chance of taking the title, went ahead just before half-time with a cracking Albert Luque free kick.
Javier Irureta's side had plenty of chances to add to their lead but a spectacular lob from Javi Guerrero provided Racing with a draw in the 77th minute.
Espanyol claimed a valuable away win at Murcia in their relegation battle thanks to an early goal from Maxi Rodriguez, who stole in front of a flat-footed defence to strike in the 11th minute.
Osasuna played badly but managed to dig out a point in a 1-1 draw with Sevilla that keeps them in the hunt for a Champions League place. Julio Cesar Baptista put Seville ahead early in the second half after being teed up by German Hornos but Pablo Garcia equalised seven minutes from time with a curling free kick.
Real Betis warmed up for next week's clash with Real Madrid with a classy, 3-0 victory over Malaga featuring a candidate for goal of the season from Alfonso.
The former Barcelona striker snaked his way past three defenders on a run in from the left touchline and beat the goalkeeper with a deflected shot for 1-0 after eight minutes.
Joaquin added a second four minutes after the break with a right-foot finish and the Spanish international winger's weak shot was steered in by Marcelo Romero for an own goal on the hour mark.
Villarreal stepped up their bid for a place in Europe next season with a 3-1 win over Valladolid.
In Italy, after falling behind early, AC Milan clawed their way to a 3-1 victory over Reggina and in doing so kept pace with the league leaders Roma.
Defender Stefano Torrisi put the Calabrian side in front after just 60 seconds by tapping in from close-range.
Brazilian Kaka responded with a fine solo effort seven minutes later and he was in the right place at the right time after the break when defender Andrea Sottil's clearance hit him and flew in.
Milan made sure of the points after an inspired Kaka was brought down by Martin Jiranek in the box and Andrea Pirlo converted with a confident chip from the spot.
Leaders AS Roma bounced back from their first defeat of the season, against Milan on Tuesday, with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at winless Perugia.
Brazilian Mancini scored the only goal of the match after just three minutes, combining well with Olivier Dacourt and unleashing a volley just inside the box.
