Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme broke the deadlock when he steered home just after the hour and fellow midfielder Santi Cazorla made sure of victory when he fired a spectacular 25-metre drive into the top corner four minutes later.

The win left Manuel Pellegrini's side level on 58 points with Sevilla, who lost 1-0 at local rivals Real Betis in the city derby on Saturday.

Espanyol moved up to fifth on 56 points and condemned opponents Numancia to relegation with a 3-0 win at Montjuic.

The result left the Sorians anchored to the bottom with 24 points, 11 adrift of safety with just three games to play.

Numancia have only spent three seasons in the Primera Liga during their 60-year history, having previously enjoyed a two-year spell in teh top flight between 1999 and 2001.

Albacete boosted their faint hopes of avoiding the drop when they claimed their first win in nine matches after a 3-1 victory at home to fellow strugglers Levante, who sacked coach Bernd Schuster after last week's 1-0 defeat over visiting Malaga.

Levante were 3-0 down by the 53rd minute and after pulling a goal back on the hour were reduced to nine men when goalscorer Sergio Garcia and fellow striker Gustavo Reggi were sent off.

Albacete are now eight points behind Levante, who occupy the last place above the drop zone with nine points to play for.

Second-placed Real Madrid [Images], who are a massive 17 points clear of Sevilla, kept the pressure on leaders Barcelona by notching up their seventh win in a row by crushing lowly Racing Santander 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday.

Barca face a tough match at outgoing champions Valencia on Sunday looking to restore a six-point lead at the top.

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