Real open up seven-point gap on Barca

Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to seven points on Saturday after they won against Real Zaragoza and rivals Barcelona only drew away to Villarreal.

Jose Mourinho’s men enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win at the Bernabeu although they had to come from behind.

Angel Lafita gave bottom-placed side Zaragoza an early lead with an 11th minute strike but a goal from Kaka after half an hour gave Real a deserved equalizer.

The home side wasted little time establishing their dominance in the second half with Cristiano Ronaldo putting them in front in the 49th minute.

Mesut Ozil doubled the lead seven minutes later to wrap up the three points.

Meanwhile, Barcelona couldn’t find a way to unlock the defence of La Liga strugglers Villarreal.

The result continues a mixed bag of a season away from home which has now yielded five draws, four wins and one loss.

A Vladimir Weiss goal earned Espanyol a 1-0 win over 10-man Mallorca.

The result moves them level on points with fourth-placed Levante who host Getafe on Sunday.

Fernando Llorente scored a hat-trick for Athletic Bilbao as they came from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2.

Miguel Cuesta gave the home side the lead in the 10th minute before Llorente struck in the 17th and 23rd minute.

Alejandro Arribas squared things up four minutes later but Llorente was on hand in the 68th minute to grab the winner.

Meanwhile in Serie A, leaders Juventus beat Udinese 2-1 in Turin to keep their title charge on track.

Alessandro Matri gave Juve the lead three minutes before halftime only for substitute Floro Flores to equalize ten minutes after the break.

Matri scored what proved to be the winner in the 63rd minute to open up a four-point gap over AC Milan who host Cagliari at the San Siro on Sunday night.

Earlier, Catania and Parma drew 1-1.