Cristiano Ronaldo scored a wonderful, back-heeled goal while Lionel Messi hit the target with a deadly accurate free-kick as Real Madrid and Barcelona both emerged victorious from testing Spanish League trips on Sunday.
Ronaldo gave Real a 1-0 win over neighbour Rayo Vallecano while Messi scored his team's second goal in a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid as Spain's two box office attractions took their league goals tally to 29 and 28 respectively.
The results also kept Real 10 points in front of the defending champion.
At Rayo Vallecano, the second half was eight minutes old when the home defence failed to clear a corner at the first attempt.
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, facing away from the goal, back-heeled the ball so powerfully from 15 yards out that it evaded four Rayo defenders on its way into the left hand corner of the net.
The game was competitive throughout and the main talking point of a goalless first period was whether or not Madrid's Sergio Ramos had intentionally used an elbow to stop Diego Costa in the penalty area after already receiving a yellow card.
Ronaldo had shot dangerously on 24 minutes across the Rayo goal from the left hand side of the penalty area and a minute later he went close again with a right-footed shot that narrowly missed the target.
Rayo was close to taking a first half lead when Francisco Medina burst into the area and cracked a shot onto the underside of the crossbar on 38 minutes.
Rayo's best chance to level fell to Miguel Perez ‘Michu', who blazed the ball over the bar after a mistake from Ramos put him clear on goal.
Michu was unjustly sent-off with a minute remaining for a challenge on Sami Khedira in which he did not appear to make contact.
Alves strikes
Barcelona dominated the first half at Atletico and the breakthrough came on 35 minutes when Dani Alves finished off a swift attacking move started by Messi who presented Cesc Fabregas with the chance to gift the Brazilian the opener.
However, it was a different Atletico that emerged for the second period and it was soon level when Colombian striker Radamel Falcao met a corner to grab his 15th league goal of the season on 48 minutes.
The game seemed to be heading for a draw until Gabi Fernandez tripped Pedro Rodriguez on the edge of the Atletico area.
As Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was lining up his defensive wall Messi surprised everyone with a curling left-foot shot into the far corner.
There was time for Juanfran to have a shot blocked at close range by Victor Valdes before the Barca keeper then had to stop a Gabi Fernandez pile-driver in injury time.
For Atletico it was its first defeat in 10 games since the turn of the year when Diego Simeone took over as coach.
Sevilla made it two consecutive wins for new coach Michel by beating third place Valencia 2-1.
Inter loses again
Ezequiel Lavezzi's second-half strike gave Napoli a 1-0 win over struggling Inter Milan which piled the pressure on Nerazzurri coach Claudio Ranieri after a seventh defeat in eight matches in the Italian League on Sunday.
The Argentine striker scored the only goal at the San Paolo with an angled drive on 59 minutes to lift Napoli to 40 points and fifth place.
The results:
Spanish League: Villarreal 2 (Senna 10, Nilmar 68) drew with Athletic Bilbao 2 (Llorente 62, Susaeta 66); Rayo Vallecano 0 lost to Real Madrid 1 (Cristiano Ronaldo 54); Valencia 1 (Tino 25) lost to Sevilla 2 (Medel 36, Jesus Navas 70); Osasuna 2 (Nekounam 26, Lekic 29) bt Granada 1 (Mikel Rico 31); Real Sociedad 1 (Agirretxe 80) bt Real Mallorca 0; Atletico Madrid 1 (Falcao 49) lost to Barcelona 2 (Dani Alves 36, Messi 81).
Italian League: Atalanta 4 (Marilungo 10, Denis 19, 47, 66) bt Roma 1 (Borini 36); Siena 4 (Terzi 23-pen, Bogdani 33, Rossettini 46, Brienza 58) bt Palermo 1 (Budan 12); Catania 3 (Bergessio 30, Marchese 48, Gomez 55) bt Novara 1 (Rubino 84); Chievo 1 (Moscardelli 78) bt Cesena 0; Cagliari 1 (Larrivey 50-pen) lost to Lecce 2 (Muriel 45, Bertolacci 64); Bologna 1 (Kone 81) lost to Udinese 3 (Di Natale 38-pen, Basta 56, Floro Flores 84); Napoli 1 (Lavezzi 59) bt Inter Milan 0; Lazio 1 (Klose 36) bt Fiorentina 0.
