Cristiano Ronaldo struck his sixth Liga hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid CF came from behind to beat ten-man Levante UD 4-2 and gather further distance from Barcelona at the Primera Dvision summit.
Madrid are now ten points clear after their rivals suffered a 3-2 reverse against Osasuna on Saturday.
Real club did not look destined to extend their league after Gustavo Cabral gave Levante an unexpected fifth-minute lead.
The result hinged on Vicente Iborra's dismissal on 43 minutes, with Ronaldo drawing José Mourinho's team level from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
The Portugal forward wrapped up his sixth Liga hat-trick of the season with a header and splendid shot within 12 minutes of the restart, before Karim Benzema completed the scoring after Arouna Koné had briefly restored hope for the visitors.
The Portugal forward wrapped up his sixth Liga hat-trick of the season with a header and splendid shot within 12 minutes of the restart, before Karim Benzema completed the scoring after Arouna Koné had briefly restored hope for the visitors.
Coach Jose Mourinho said afterwards: "There are many points still at stake and many games yet to be played. Every match is difficult and increasingly so because there is so much at stake for everyone now. Those who want to avoid relegation or play in Europe risk everything. There are 39 points left, which translate into 13 victories, and that's still a lot. Ten points are just that, but they do give you some room for error. Losing a game won't push us into a decisive situation. Every game is difficult. Tonight's was, just like those against Getafe and Zaragoza were."
"We'll probably fail as much as we did in the first leg, but this lead allows us to make minor mistakes. We'll play complicated games on the road, but we're proving it's also hard to win against us here. Levante were very well organised from a tactical standpoint. We have to continue winning games because championships are won only when the math says so."
"I don't want to comment on what the press says because its interests are different from ours. I tell my players that those who say the championship is over are the same who put pressure on us when we don't win. This isn't different for other teams. We must remain calm and avoid talking about other sides."
"Cristiano Ronaldo's goal was incredible, fantastic, and I believe it will go around the world during the next few weeks. The entire team feels so and it was a special strike for Cristiano. It was the 4,000th strike at the Bernabeu and he deserves it."
"I told my men Levante were a tight outfit, that we were giving them the ball and they were then passing it forward to Kone. I told them we had to play touch football and avoid losing it. The crowd doesn't like it when we keep the ball, unlike that at other stadiums. If we win this league, it won't be due to the goal average, but because we'll have more points than Barcelona. I wanted my men to play touch football, but they felt some pressure."
"We're very confident but may lack concentration at the start of our games. We're giving strong performances in the second halves we play at home. Zaragoza scored from a quick set piece and today... Well, the good thing is we're very confident and that many of our men can score. We have many chances on target and we usually score, but we would have lost 1-0 by half-time had we not scored on the 44-minute mark. We have to improve on that because the day will come in which we'll miss."
"I won't play the Copa del Rey final, so I don't care if it's held here or in China."
Eight points adrift of Barcelona in third are Valencia CF following their comprehensive 4-0 home win against Real Sporting de Gijón. RCD Espanyol are fifth, meanwhile, after they suffered a surprise 2-0 home loss against bottom-placed Real Zaragoza, previously without a league victory since mid-October.
Elsewhere, Rayo Vallecano de Madrid beat ten-man Getafe CF 2-0, seventh-placed Málaga CF triumphed 3-1 against RCD Mallorca and Villarreal CF defeated Granada CF by the same scoreline.
