Ten-man Barca struggle to win

Barcelona lurched to a much-needed 3-1 win over lowly Sporting Gijon on a night they struggled for a cutting edge without Lionel Messi.

With the Argentina playmaker suspended, Pep Guardiola's side had to rely on late goals from Seydou Keita and Xavi to secure a win that moved them seven points behind leaders Real Madrid, who host Espanyol on Sunday.

Barca looked in real danger of dropping yet more points when David Barral's 49th-minute equaliser for Gijon came moments after Gerard Pique saw red.

The champions had been frustrated before Andres Iniesta opened the scoring just before half-time and their ineffectiveness in front of goal looked like costing them until Keita curled in a wonderful goal with 11 minutes left.

Xavi added a third late on as Barca extended their unbeaten run at the Nou Camp to 49 games.

Eliseu Pereira scored one goal and set up another as Malaga came from behind to win 3-1 at Getafe.

Manuel Pellegrini's men trailed to a first-half strike from Diego Castro, but Eliseu's introduction after the interval provided an equaliser before the midfielder teed up Jeremy Toulalan for Malaga's second.

Santi Cazorla then added a stunning strike from distance as the visitors maintained their push for European football next season.

Osasuna's European ambitions were dented as they drew 1-1 at Real Mallorca.
Emilio Nsue rescued a draw for the hosts in the 72nd minutes after Alvaro Cejudo's opener just before the interval.

Atletico Madrid claimed a 1-1 draw at mid-table rivals Sevilla. Eduardo Salvio opened the scoring for Atletico on nine minutes before Baba Diawara equalised for the home side on 53 minutes.

Rayo Vallecano recovered from 2-0 down to beat 10-man Racing Santander 4-2 at Vallecas.

The visitors were dealt an early blow when goalkeeper Tono was sent off after just three minutes for bringing down Diego Costa.

However, they responded by taking a 2-0 lead after Marc Torrejon fired in from Christian Stuani's knockdown on nine minutes and Gonzalo Colsa finished calmly 19 minutes later.

Michu pulled a goal back for Rayo just before half-time and the hosts put the game beyond any doubt with three goals in 10 minutes after the break.

Michu tapped in his second to equalise after substitute goalkeeper Mario spilled Emiliano Armenteros' cross before Raul Tamudo and Piti consigned Racing to their second defeat in three games.

Sunday / Monday Games

Real Madrid host Barcelona's city rivals Espanyol on Sunday looking to continue their seemingly relentless march to the title.

Defeat by Barca in December is the only blemish on a perfect record dating back to a goalless draw with Racing Santander on September 21.

Espanyol have slipped to eighth after a run of only two points from four games, so a trip to the Bernabeu could hardly come at a worse time.

However, midfielder Romaric, who scored his first La Liga goal in a 4-3 win for Sevilla in Madrid in 2008, believes they should head to the capital with confidence.

"I won with Sevilla and I think we can win," said Romaric, who is on loan at Espanyol from Sevilla until the end of the season.

"We must go without fear, and we are convinced was can do so.

"We will be faithful to our philosophy and even against a big team it will be a normal game."

Romaric also played down the significance of Espanyol's poor run, saying: "To me there is no problem and we're calm. There is no crisis."

Third-placed Valencia will look to get back to winning ways after back-to-back league defeats by Barcelona and Sevilla when they travel to Granada on Sunday.

Los Che are currently five points ahead of Levante, who host Real Betis on Monday.

Saturday's La Liga Results

Barcelona 3-1 Sporting Gijon
Getafe 1-3 Malaga
Real Mallorca 1-1 Osasuna
Rayo Vallecano 4-2 Racing Santander
Sevilla 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Sunday's La Liga Fixtures

Real Zaragoza vs Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Sociedad
Granada vs Valencia
Real Madrid vs Espanyol
Monday's La Liga Fixture
Levante vs Real Betis