Lionel Messi came to Barcelona's recue yet again, as the Spanish giants' defensive frailties were exposed in a 4-2 win over Mallorca, while a wounded Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal as Real edged Levante 2-1 in near unplayable conditions.
Atletico Madrid remained three points behind Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Getafe. Barcelona with their victory over Mallorca have now won ten of their opening eleven games, with Xavi and Cristian Tello scoring the other goals.
Barca manager Tito Vilanova, however, will be scratching his head at his side's defensive capabilities, after the away team gave away two cheap goals, which cut the lead to 3-2, before Messi's second and his 76th goal for club and country in 2012, ensured his side all three points - Messi is now just nine goals behind Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals set in a calendar year, way back in 1972.
"The team is in a situation right now when any little mistake costs you a goal," Vilanova told reporters. "Maybe one goal against would have been a just reflection of how the match went but not two."
Barcelona, however, will be buoyed by the return of Gerard Pique, who played the entire 90 minutes in his first appearance since September. "I felt great physically, I was very comfortable on the pitch," Pique said. "In general we played well and we were the superior side, even though the opening 15 minutes were difficult."
In Valencia, Real were made to work really hard for the win, with Levante's waterlogged pitch causing Jose Mourinho's side quite a few problems. Ronaldo, deployed in a center forward position due to the injuries to Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, suffered a nasty cut on his forehead, after clashing with Levante defender David Navarro in the opening minutes of the game.
The Portuguese, however, after being taped up, scored the opening goal in the 21st minute - smashing a sweet volley into the top of the net. Ronaldo, however, was taken off at halftime as a precaution, with Levante then equalizing just past the hour mark through Angel Luiz Rodriguez.
Xabi Alonso missed a penalty to give his side the lead, before his freekick was headed in by substitute Alvaro Morata in the final moments -- Real remain eight points behind leaders Barcelona.
"We deserved to win but Levante made it very difficult, like they always do," Mouirnho told reporters. "Both teams had to adapt to play in these difficult conditions, but playing in the rain is part of football. Levante reacted well. We had to give everything we had to win the game."
Valencia, who beat Atletico in the previous round, were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Valladolid while Athletic Bilbao picked up only their fourth win of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Sevilla.
