Real Madrid went 13 points clear of Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday as Karim Benzema grabbed a double in a 4-0 win over 10-man Racing Santander.
Jose Mourinho’s men have given Barca little margin for error having won 18 of the past 19 games since they drew 0-0 at Santander at the end of September.
On Saturday, they weren’t so forgiving towards Racing as they stayed on track for their first league title since 2008.
A Cristiano Ronaldo header hit the post as Real came out all guns blazing and, after six minutes, they were a goal up with Kaka crossing for Ronaldo to head in from less than a metre out for his 28th league strike of the season.
Real were given a further boost by the harsh dismissal of Domingo Cisma after 38 minutes when he was adjudged to have handled the ball.
On the stroke of halftime, Benzema doubled the lead when he clipped the ball in from an acute angle and after the break Real remained firmly in control.
Xabi Alonso had a shot from the edge of the area which went narrowly past the post before substitute Angel Di Maria, returning from injury, hit a shot into the back of the net although goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez perhaps should have done better.
Benzema completed the rout with a deflected strike a minute from the end.
Barcelona return to La Liga action after a 3-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and keeper Victor Valdes says they need to continue the form they showed against the Germans.
The Catalan side have a difficult home clash against Valencia but it is their performances away from the Nou Camp, where they have won only four from 11 matches, that have given them a mountain to climb if they are to retain their title.
“Our Champions League progress is the path we need to follow in the league,” said Valdes.
“We are in the final of the King’s Cup and we hope to retain the Champions League trophy. Other teams know us better now, so maybe that is one of the reasons why we haven’t done so well away from home.”
Espanyol moved into fourth place despite being held 1-1 by mid-table Getafe.
Espanyol were looking to bounce back from a surprise defeat against bottom side Zaragoza last week which brought to an end a seven-match unbeaten run but they started slowly.
The teams are bunching up below Espanyol and Osasuna will move above them if they win away to Sevilla later on Saturday.