Eto’o and Deco on target as Barca extend lead
The victory means Barcelona now enjoy a four-point lead over nearest challengers Osasuna, who dropped their first home points of the season yesterday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Racing Santander.
French midfielder Ludovic Delporte put Osasuna in front on the half hour but Santander striker Antonito equalised.
Real Madrid are now 13 points behind Barca after drawing 0-0 away to Villarreal last night.
Valencia are third after picking up a point in a 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid, while Deportivo are fourth after a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, Cadiz moved out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win over a Getafe side who continue their slide down the league.
A Nenad Mirosavljevic penalty five minutes after the half hour was enough for the home side to claim all three points, only their fourth win in 18 games.
The game finished ten-a-side after Fabian Estoyanoff, for the hosts, and David Belenguer, for the visitors, were dismissed for a 79th minute altercation.
Alaves, however, remain rooted to the foot of the table after a 2-0 home defeat to Real Zaragoza.
After a goalless first half striker Diego Milito put the visitors in front just 60 seconds after the restart and Ewerthon made the final five minutes a formality with his side’s second.
Real Betis also remain in the bottom three after the Sevillians’ first action of 2006.
A 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Real Mallorca was secured after Robert de Pinho de Souza equalised ten minutes after the hosts had been given a 28th minute lead through Jonas Gutierrez.
Midfielder Enzo Maresca scored to send Sevilla to a comfortable 3-1 win over ten-man Malaga.
It could all have been so different for the visitors who saw Hidalgo Antonio dismissed for violent conduct with the game scoreless.
Former West Bromwich Albion player Maresca capitalised on his side’s advantage and gave his side the lead three minutes after the half hour, although Salva pegged the hosts back with a strike four minutes after the interval.
Sevilla’s ascendancy was secured when Claro Adriano Correira scored a quarter of an hour later and Ivica Dragutinovic put the seal on the win two minutes later.
Celta Vigo’s fine season continued with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. Nestor Cannobio was the home side’s matchwinner with a strike midway through the first half.
In Italy, Roma started life without Antonio Cassano with victory at Treviso, while Internazionale’s title charge was halted as they could only claim a point at Siena.
The capital club saw Cassano depart to Real Madrid, but they brushed off the departure by claiming a win at Treviso thanks to Alberto Aquilani’s strike on 36 minutes.
Inter saw Juventus extend their lead at the top on Saturday, with a 2-1 win at Palermo thanks to two goals by former Chelsea man Adrian Mutu. but they could not respond as Siena held them at bay for 90 minutes.
Inter’s neighbours AC are now second after a hard fought 4-3 win over Parma last night at the San Siro.
Parma shocked the hosts by taking the lead in the 24th minute through Paola Cannavaro but a Giuseppe Cardone own goal had them level three minutes later and strikes from Alberto Gilardino and Kaka had them 3-1 up at half-time.
Marco Marchionni netted for Parma in the 70th minute before the prolific Andriy Shevchenko looked to have sealed the points for Milan nine minutes from time. However, Marchionni scored his second four minutes later but Milan hung on.
Lazio reignited their charge for a European place with a comprehensive home win over Ascoli.
The capital club fell behind early on when Roberto Guana found the target, but the goal stung Lazio into action and goals from Paolo Di Canio and Gaby Mudingayi had them in control at the interval.
Lazio held firm before putting the game to bed in the final 20 minutes thanks to goals from Goran Pandev and Igli Tare.
Messina are battling to avoid the drop and they secured a valuable three points with victory at Empoli.
Zlatan Muslimovic proved to be the hero as he netted twice, with their other goal coming from Arturo Di Napoli. The home side’s reply came from Sergio Almiron.
Cristaino Lucarelli’s brace earned Livorno victory at Sampdoria, while Cagliari did their hopes of avoiding the drop a power of good as they overcame Udinese. Nestor Sensini gave Udinese the lead, but goals from Daniele Conti Antonio Langella proved enough for Cagliari.
Lecce continue to struggle and they were put to the sword by Chievo. Sergio Pellisier bagged a brace and Andrea Zanchetta also found the scoresheet as Chievo cruised to victory.
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