La Liga Round Up: Title contenders keep their momentum going

Real Madrid celebrate their victory against Vallecano

Los Blancos picked up a much needed win against city minnows Rayo Vallecano after enduring a disappointing week.

Ronaldo and co. came out second best after back to back defeats against Barcelona and Sevilla but a whooping 5-0 scoreline against Rayo will restore some amount of confidence in their quest for the title.

Gareth Bale scored a brace while Ronaldo, Carvajal and Morata each registered once for the men in white.

Carlo Ancelotti demanded focus after their loss away at Sevilla and Madrid responded with a Ronaldo opener after Gareth Bale provided a nicely weighted pass. Carvajal slotted home the 2nd of the night as Ronaldo selflessly set him up with a back pass.

Gareth Bale then scored two goals in quick successions first being a tap in from a Di Maria assist and the second was a brilliant solo run. Morata finished the game off in style with a superb curler which confirmed Real’s convincing victory.

City rivals Atletico made a difficult trip to the Basque country where both Barca and Real have failed to win. It was a crucial encounter in terms of the title race and Simeone’s men edged out Bilbao 2-1 to remain at the top of the table.

The home side took an early lead at the 6th minute after Iker Munian scored with a perfect lob. But goals from Diego Costa and Koke secured all the three points for the visitors at San Mames.

Elsewhere the Catalunya derby saw Espanyol play host to FC Barcelona . The early kickoff at Cornella El-Prat Stadium ended at 1-0 with the scoreline in favour of the Blaugranas as Lionel Messi converted from the spot kick after a dodgy penalty decision from the referee. This was his first ever goal at Espanyol’s new stadium which keeps Barcelona at second place with 75 points behind Atletico.

Real Madrid travel to Sociedad next week while both Barcelona and Atletico play host to Real Betis and Villareal respectively.