Messi and Villa lead Barca to Rayo win but Atletico Madrid beat Osasuna to keep up
Posted Monday, March 18, 2013 by Dailymail
Lionel Messi and David Villa combined to devastating effect to see off Rayo Vallecano 3-1 and help Barcelona restore their 13-point lead at the top of La Liga tonight.
Rayo could not handle the partnership which accounted for all three goals - Villa opening the scoring before Messi netted twice to extend his stunning goalscoring record to 18 successive league matches.
The visitors remain in mid-table but can feel satisfied with an enterprising display which saw them create numerous chances before Raul Tamudo grabbed a late consolation.
Truly outstanding: Lionel Messi was again key in yet another Barcelona victory
Atletico Madrid bounced back from last week's home defeat to Real Sociedad - a result which ended their 100 per cent league record at the Vicente Calderon this season - with a 2-0 win at Osasuna.
Diego Costa netted both goals, scoring in the 35th and 48th minutes, as Atletico remained a point behind second-placed Real Madrid.
Malaga, meanwhile, dropped out of the top four for the first time in seven weeks after surprisingly losing 2-0 home to Espanyol.
Devastating: David Villa's return to Barca's line up has been pivotal
Second-half goals by Diego Colotto and Sergio Garcia gave the visitors a smash-and-grab victory at La Rosaleda as Malaga, who have progressed through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, saw their winless run in La Liga stretch to four games.
Sevilla kept their faint hopes of achieving a Europa League place alive with a 4-0 victory over Real Zaragoza, the goals coming from Coke (two), Jose Antonio Reyes and Alvaro Negredo, while Granada drew 1-1 with Levante.
Granada took a 32nd-minute lead through Guilherme Siqueira's penalty but Robert Acquafresca equalised for Levante just five minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute.
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