The matches are coming thick and fast, with three rounds of league games in eight days. On Saturday Barcelona dropped points for the first time in eight games, although they will be happy with a point at an improving Valencia thanks to goals from Messi and Henry. Real Madrid closed the gap to four points though the following day after an impressive 2-4 win at Sevilla, with Raúl scoring a hat-trick, and next Saturday's fixture between the top two has all the makings of a classic.

Elsewhere Diego Forlán and Agüero were on target as Atlético Madrid beat Numancia 3-1, and once again both Llorentes (Athletic's Fernando and Villarreal's Joseba) were on the scoresheet for their respective sides. And finally Camuñas (Recreativo), Renato (Sevilla) and Bilic (Sporting) all joined the group on ten goals after finding the net in their respective ties. (27.04.09)