Barça back in the groove as Valencia slip up

FC Barcelona cruised to a 19th Liga victory from 22 matches and re-established their 12-point lead with a 3-1 win against Real Sporting de Gijón on a day when Villarreal CF moved alongside fourth-placed Valencia CF.

Eto'o double
Barcelona were hunting their 100th goal of the season in all competitions and they did not have long to wait as Andrés Iniesta and Thierry Henry combined in a swift counterattack to tee up Samuel Eto'o from close range. Sporting needed to reach half-time within a goal of their hosts but failed to manage it as Lionel Messi slipped a pass through to Eto'o and the league's top goalscorer fired in a second on 40 minutes. Daniel Alves (66) added a third before a Sporting consolation.

Flaño winner
Valencia's miserable run on the road continued as they succumbed 1-0 at CA Osasuna. Miguel Flaño's second-half header settled matters, moved the hosts out of the bottom three and earned successive league wins for the first time since June 2007 for the Pamplona outfit. Villarreal moved level on points with Valencia after Giuseppe Rossi scored in either half to see off CD Numancia 2-1 but RC Deportivo La Coruña dropped two places to eighth after a 1-1 draw at RCD Mallorca.

Atlético ascent
Club Atlético de Madrid and Málaga CF surged past Depor after contrasting successes. Diego Forlán scored twice in the first half after Sergio Agüero's opener in a straightforward 3-0 win for the capital club at RC Recreativo de Huelva whereas Málaga had to overturn a two-goal deficit at the break to beat UD Almería 3-2. Elsewhere, Real Valladolid CF edged Athletic Club Bilbao 2-1 while Getafe CF drew 1-1 with RCD Espanyol.