A twenty-third minute goal from Cristiano Ronaldo was enough to see Real Madrid safely past Málaga at La Rosaleda and the victory maintains their position at the top of La Liga.
Atlético Madrid remain in touch with the leaders after a shaky 1-0 win against visiting Espanyol, Diego Costa the goalscorer as one might expect by now. Not a convincing performance, but enough for the three points.
Nolito scored the only goal of the match for Celta de Vido to give them a 0-1 victory over Levante. Rayo Vallecano were fairly comfortable 3-1 winners against Almeria with one goal from Bueno and two from Larrivey, Soriano replying for the visitors.