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The cup started to get serious this week, with eight strong sides still left in the competition. The two Madrid teams look like making it through to the semis though after each won their respective first leg games 2-0, Benzema one of the scorers for Mourinho's side against Valencia, and Falcao on target against Betis. Barça still have a lot of work to do though despite another golito from Messi, a 2-2 draw at home to Málaga leaving them needing a victory in the Rosaleda next week. The tie between Zaragoza and Sevilla is also in the balance after ending goal-less.

Messi scored again at the weekend for the tenth league game in a row, equalling the record set by the old Ronaldo during his time at the Nou Camp in the the 1996-7 season. It was not a happy ending though as their opponents Real Sociedad came back from two down to hand Vilanova's side their first defeat of the season. Second placed Atlético closed the gap behind the leaders to eight points after a 2-0 win over Levante, although they paid a high price when Falcao limped off, and he is likely to be out for three weeks or so. Real Madrid also appeared to be revitalized by Barça's defeat, Higuaín opening the scoring and Di María and Ronaldo netting two more at Valencia, and all that before the break! Soldado also injured himself in that match, and he falls behind Rubén Castro and Aduríz in the race for the "Zarra" prize, both scoring in the 1-1 draw between Betis and Athletic on Monday night. Valladolid's Oscar is also in the running after he clocked up his ninth of the season against Zaragoza, and Verdú enters our chart for the first time after he converted a penalty in Espanyol's 3-2 win over Mallorca on Friday. (22.01.13)

Pichichi League Cup Europe Total (Penalties)
Messi (Barcelona) 29 5 5 39 (2)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 18 6 6 30 (4)
Falcao (Atlético) 18 1 3 22 (6)
Soldado (Valencia) 11 2 4 17 (4)
Aduríz (Athletic Bilbao) 12 1 3 16 (1)
Rubén Castro (Betis) 12 3 0 15 (1)
Negredo (Sevilla) 8 3 0 11 (3)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 5 3 3 11 (0)
David Villa (Barcelona) 5 5 0 10 (0)
Piti (Rayo Vallecano) 9 0 0 9 (2)
Oscar (Valladolid) 9 0 0 9 (0)
Higuaín (Real Madrid) 8 1 0 9 (0)
Iago Aspas (Celta) 8 0 0 8 (2)
Vela (Real Sociedad) 8 0 0 8 (3)
Postiga (Zaragoza) 8 0 0 8 (0)
Fàbregas (Barcelona) 6 1 1 8 (0)
Raúl García (Atlético Madrid) 4 2 2 8 (0)
Jonas (Valencia) 3 1 4 8 (1)
Hemed (Mallorca) 7 0 0 7 (0)
Santa Cruz (Málaga) 5 2 0 7 (0)
Riki (Deportivo) 6 0 0 6 (0)
Molina (Betis) 6 0 0 6 (0)
Pizzi (Deportivo) 6 0 0 6 (3)
Verdú (Espanyol) 6 0 0 6 (3)
Martins (Levante) 6 0 0 6 (0)
Víctor Casadesús (Mallorca) 6 0 0 6 (1)
Leo Baptistao (Rayo) 6 0 0 6 (0)
Manucho (Valladolid) 6 0 0 6 (0)
Adriano (Barcelona) 5 1 0 6 (0)
Xavi (Barcelona) 5 1 0 6 (0)
Saviola (Málaga) 5 0 1 6 (0)
Di María (Real Madrid) 4 2 0 6 (0)
Isco (Málaga) 4 0 2 6 (0)
Joaquín (Málaga) 4 0 2 6 (2)
Valdez (Valencia) 3 2 1 6 (0)
Feghouli (Valencia) 3 0 3 6 (0)
Susaeta (Athletic Bilbao) 2 0 4 6 (0)