Real hit Coruna for six, Barca doom Osasuna

REAL Madrid again made light of the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo as they crushed Deportivo la Coruna 6-2 to maintain the upper hand in the La Liga title race on Wednesday.

Real and Barcelona are locked on 78 points at the top of the table, but Real have a game in hand over their title rivals.

Barca remain top thanks to their better head-to-head record, as Lionel Messi struck twice to relegate Osasuna in a 7-1 thrashing.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane made nine changes in all from the side that lost 3-2 to Barca on Sunday to reignite the title race.

Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and the injured Gareth Bale were left out the Madrid squad for a third straight away league game, but again their absence wasn’t missed.

“It is the hardest job for a coach. When they play like they did today and then maybe they won’t play in the next game,” said Zidane. “I have a phenomenal group of players and all of them are ready for the challenge between now and the end of the season.”

At the Camp Nou, Barca fans paid homage to Messi’s brilliance against Real in scoring the winner and his 500th goal for the club with the last kick of the game in Sunday’s El Clasico.

The five-time World Player of the Year responded by opening the scoring as he pounced on an error in the Osasuna defence to stroll through on goal and lift the ball over the advancing Salvatore Sirigu.

Andre Gomes has been the scapegoat for many of Barca’s most disappointing defeats this season.

But the Portuguese had arguably his best night in a Barca shirt as he drilled home Ivan Rakitic’s cross to make it 2-0 on the half hour.

“We had the chance to use a lot of players that have played fewer minutes,” Barca boss Luis Enrique said.

“It is a game that boosts those individuals, the team as a whole and gives us hope for the end of the season.”

Osasuna’s relegation was confirmed after Leganes beat Las Palmas 3-0 to move six points clear of the drop zone.

And Real Sociedad boosted their chances of Europa League qualification with a 3-2 win at Valencia.