Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain both grabbed hat-tricks as Barcelona and Real Madrid maintained the status quo at the top of the Primera Division on Sunday night.
Barca were up first and had to rely on Argentina winger Messi to see them past third-placed Valencia at the Nou Camp.
Los Che held their own in a cagey first half before Messi took centre stage with a wonderful treble.
The visitors never threatened a comeback once Hedwiges Maduro became the seventh Valencia player to be sent off in seven games shortly after Messi's opener.
That saw the Catalans pull three points clear but it was an advantage which stood for just two hours as Madrid responded with an emphatic 4-1 win at Real Valladolid.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Manuel Pellegrini's side ahead with a trademark free-kick after 28 minutes and two Higuain strikes either side of half-time all but settled the issue.
Raul Albiol bundled home a comical own goal before Higuain notched his third, tapping in Ronaldo's cross-shot.
Villarreal moved to within six points of the Europa League spots after winning 2-0 against bottom club Xerez, who slip ever closer to the relegation trap-door after seeing their recent mini-revival come to an end.
Villarreal have badly under-achieved this season but they could yet salvage a European berth after trimming the difference to the top six by two points thanks to goals from Joseba Llorente and Damian Escudero.
Midfielder Fernando Soriano continued his recent run of goalscoring form by firing Almeria to a 1-0 victory over local rivals Malaga at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos.
Malaga, however, are now only four points above the bottom three after failing to improve their poor record against fellow Andalusian sides this season.
Racing Santander's search for a first home league win since early January continues after they were held to a goalless draw by Primera Division relegation rivals Real Zaragoza at El Sardinero.
Goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti was the hero for the hosts as he made a string of excellent saves to deny a Zaragoza side that created the better clear-cut chances of a scrappy encounter.
Tenerife boosted their hopes of survival with a vital 4-1 win at home to Espanyol as the Catalans' miserable away form continued.
Richi gave the Canary Islanders the lead after 20 minutes and Nino doubled the home side's lead early in the second half.
Espanyol got back into the game through Joan Verdu 20 minutes from time, but Alejandro Alfaro and Nino later rounded off a deserved victory for Jose Luis Oltra's in the closing stages.
On Saturday night Sevilla were held at home to a 1-1 draw by fellow high-flyers Deportivo La Coruna.
It started well for the hosts when they took a first-half lead through Federico Fazio.
However, sixth-placed Depor, who are only two points behind the Andalusians, levelled up almost immediately through Adrian Lopez and despite the hosts hitting the woodwork twice and pushing hard for the win in the second half, the spoils were shared.
Champions League-chasing Real Mallorca's poor away form returned to haunt them as they slumped to a heavy 3-0 defeat at Getafe, whose own European hopes received a big boost.
Mallorca started the weekend level with fourth-placed Sevilla on 43 points, but they missed the chance to further strengthen their push after going down to goals from Daniel Parejo, Miku and Manu Del Moral.
Parejo headed home the opener in the 32nd minute, substitute Miku made it 2-0 10 minutes from time before his fellow replacement Manu wrapped up the scoring soon after from the penalty spot.
In that same incident Mallorca captain Nunes was sent off after handling the ball on the line.
Athletic Bilbao had the chance to go level on points with Mallorca had they defeated Sporting Gijon but they saw their European aspirations dented slightly as they came up against an inspired goalkeeper in a 0-0 draw.
Sporting keeper Juan Pablo Colinas was at the top of his game, denying the visitors with a string of superb saves, the best of which was from a penalty to deny Igor Gabilondo after 58 minutes.
