Barca close on heels, but Real stay on top

REAL MADRID maintained a one point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga as Cristiano Ronaldo was on target in a hard fought 3-1 win at rock bottom Osasuna. Earlier, Barca’s front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all struck in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves.

Madrid also have two games in hand on their title rivals. “There is no such a difference (between the sides). It is true it was the leader against last in the table, but you have to play the games and the opponents always make it difficult against Madrid,” said Real boss Zinedine Zidane.

“We have to suffer, but in the end we got what we came for.” The game at El Sadar was only 15 minutes old when Bonnin came off worse in an innocuous looking challenge with Isco to the visible shock of players on both sides. Osasuna had started on the front foot, but suffered a further blow nine minutes later when Karim Benzema’s through ball found Ronaldo and the World Player of the Year’s drive from a narrow angle had too much power for Salvatore Sirigu.

The hosts responded in style just after the half hour mark when Sergio Leon broke into an ocean of space behind the Madrid defence before producing a cool chip over Keylor Navas to level.

Navas then made brilliant saves from Emmanuel Riviere and Leon either side of half-time to keep Madrid on level terms.

And eventually their extra quality shone through when Isco latched onto a loose ball inside the area and slotted into the far corner just after the hour mark.

Madrid should have gone onto win by a more comfortable margin as Sirigu made a fine save from Ronaldo before the Portuguese and Lucas Vazquez had strong claims for a penalty waived away. However, Vazquez made the points safe with a measured dink over Sirigu in the final minute of stoppage time.

Barca’s success was also soured by violent clashes between fans outside the ground before kick-off which left one supporter in hospital with serious head injuries.

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s big three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar led a 6-0 rout at Alaves on Saturday.

Before the game, fans from both teams fought near Mendizorroza Stadium in the Basque city of Vitoria.

Both clubs condemned the violence. Alaves said it would take action against any of its club members if they were involved. Suarez struck twice to continue his excellent scoring form with 10 goals in his last nine appearances across all competitions. He is on pace to repeat as La Liga's leading scorer with 18, followed closely by Messi with 17.

Barcelona took over the league lead from Real Madrid. Madrid can restore its place at the top by winning at Osasuna later. Madrid also has two games in hand, against Valencia and Celta Vigo.

Besides his brace, Suarez played a part in two more goals, while defender Alexis Ruano added an own goal on a dismal day for the hosts. Alaves will have more than three months to prepare for its next meeting with the European powerhouse in the Copa del Rey final on May 27.

Meanwhile, veteran striker Aritz Aduriz scored with a minute remaining to complete Athletic Bilbao’s comeback against Deportivo La Coruna.