Rampant Madrid belittle Barcelona

Rampant Madrid belittle Barcelona

Real Madrid CF's title celebrations continued with a 4-1 rout against rivals FC Barcelona while Villarreal CF also had reason to toast their 2-0 success.
Early openerThe champions were in party mood after securing the Spanish title on Sunday and not even their Catalan foes could stop the festivities as first-half strikes from Raúl González and Arjen Robben confirmed their superiority this season. Madrid were chasing a Primera División double over Frank Rijkaard's side and they made the perfect start in front of a jubilant crowd when Wesley Sneijder's pass deflected into the path of Raúl on the edge of the area and the striker curled a wonderful effort in off the far post on 13 minutes.
Further strikes

Eight minutes later it was two when Robben, completely unmarked six metres from goal, headed in Guti's free-kick. Gonzalo Higuaín (63) clipped in a third goal and Ruud van Nistelrooy's penalty made it 4-0 before Thierry Henry's consolation (87) and a late red card for Xavi Hernández. The defeat condemned Barcelona to third spot at best as Villarreal won at RC Recreativo de Huelva, with goals from Nihat Kahveci and Guille Franco, to move seven points clear in second position. Sevilla FC's bid to return to the UEFA Champions League next season was boosted as they leapfrogged Real Racing Club Santander into fifth spot with a 3-0 win at El Sardinero, Federico Fazio scoring twice.
Mallorca surge

RCD Mallorca made it four consecutive league wins by overcoming CA Osasuna 2-1, while RC Deportivo La Coruña's resurgence continued with a 1-0 win against Levante UD. There were also timely victories for struggling Valencia CF, 1-0 at home to Real Zaragoza, and Getafe CF who came from two goals down to beat UD Almería 4-2. Elsewhere, Athletic Club Bilbao won 2-1 at Real Murcia CF and Real Betis Balompié drew 1-1 against Real Valladolid CF.
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