Fàbregas keeps Barcelona lead intact

FC Barcelona's 13-point lead at the Liga summit remains intact after they overcame a stubborn Levante UD 1-0 at Camp Nou.

With a UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday, Tito Vilanova rested a number of regulars and his reshuffled pack struggled to click. When they did, goalkeeper Keylor Navas denied them – even saving David Villa's first-half penalty.

Second-half chances were rare until a late Barça onslaught in which Navas again proved his ability, but Cesc Fàbregas exploited a late opportunity, collecting substitute Alexis Sánchez's pass inside the box and steering into the bottom left corner.

Earlier, Real Madrid CF prevailed 3-1 at home against Real Betis Balompié. On the cusp of half-time, Mesut Özil provided a cool finish to open the scoring from Karim Benzema's through ball and the Frenchman doubled the lead before the hour. A Jorge Molina penalty reduced the defecit, but Özil crashed in a late second from close range to extinguish any doubt. Injuries to Marcelo and Luka Modrić soured Madrid's night, however.

Elsewhere, Roberto Soldado scored twice as Valencia CF recorded an emphatic 5-1 victory over Málaga CF, boosting their European prospects. Ernesto Valverde's charges are just one point shy of fourth-placed Real Sociedad de Fútbol, and the two teams will meet in Sociedad next weekend.

Granada CF remain in trouble, and hover one point above the relegation places after a 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid CF.