Rampant Real Madrid keeping up the pressure on Barcelona

Real Madrid 3 Almeria 0: Real Madrid kept up the pressure on Primera Division leaders Barcelona by beating Almeria 3-0 at the Bernabau to return to within two points of their fierce rivals.

Twenty-four hours after Barcelona dismantled Getafe 6-0 to go five points clear at the summit, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were clinical against Sergi Barjuan’s strugglers as a stunning James Rodriguez volley, a Mauro dos Santos own-goal and a late Alvaro Arbeloa strike sealed a routine victory.

A fifth successive league victory sees Real move on to 82 points – two behind Barcelona – with four league games remaining. Almeria, meanwhile, remain firmly involved in the battle to avoid relegation as their fifth defeat in seven games leaves them just two points from the bottom three.