It was Real Madrid’s turn to play their Champions League tie this week, and they set the cat amongst the pigeons with a 1-6 win at Schalke. All three of their B-B-C (Benzema-Bale-Cristiano) front line scored twice, Ronaldo taking his tally this season in the competition to eleven, and on that form they must be one of the favourites to win their tenth European title (the fames “decima”). All three Spanish teams are now looking good for a place in the last eight, and on Thursday another three La Liga sides also made it through to the next round of the Europa League, with Betis notably braving the cold of Kazan to beat Rubin 0-2, Nono and Rubén Castro the scorers. Unfortunately Betis will have to meet city rivals Sevilla in the last sixteen after Unai Emery’s team won through 2-1 against Maribor, Reyes and Gameiro getting the goals either side of half time. Meanwhile Valencia will play the little known Bulgarian side Ludogorets after they beat Dynamo Kiev 2-0 on aggregate, both goals coming in the first leg away from home a week ago.

Real Madrid didn’t have time to celebrate their win though as they had to prepare for the big derby game on Sunday against city neighbours Atlético Madrid. A defeat would have meant a return to the three-way tie at the top, but in the end they drew 2-2 to stay ahead of their two rivals in the table. Benzema started things off with an early opener, but strikes by Koke and Gabi turned the scoreline around before Ronaldo saved the draw late on. Barcelona closed to within a point of Madrid however after they beat Almería 4-1, Alexis and Messi getting the first two, and the top three are now eleven points clear of Athletic Bilbao, who consolidated fourth spot with a 4-0 victory on Friday night against Granada, which included a hat-trick from Aduríz. Elsewhere Rubén Castro and Gameiro followed up their midweek strikes with a goal apiece on Sunday, Castro’s saving a point for his side at Villarreal, and Gameiro’s giving Sevilla a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. (04.03.14)

Pichichi League Cup Europe Total (Penalties)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 23 3 11 37 (8)
Diego Costa (Atlético) 21 1 5 27 (4)
Messi (Barcelona) 15 5 7 27 (4)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 14 2 4 20 (0)
Griezmann (Real Sociedad) 15 3 1 19 (0)
Alexis (Barcelona) 16 2 0 18 (0)
Pedro (Barcelona) 13 3 1 17 (0)
Vela (Real Sociedad) 10 2 3 15 (0)
Bale (Real Madrid) 10 0 4 14 (0)
Bacca (Sevilla) 10 0 4 14 (0)
Raúl García (Atlético) 7 4 3 14 (0)
Javi Guerra (Valladolid) 12 1 0 13 (0)
Villa (Atlético Madrid) 11 2 0 13 (1)
Fàbregas (Barcelona) 8 4 1 13 (3)
Uche (Villarreal) 12 0 0 12 (0)
Rakitic (Sevilla) 10 0 2 12 (3)
Neymar (Barcelona) 7 2 3 12 (1)
Sergio García (Espanyol) 10 1 0 11 (4)
Aduríz Athletic) 9 2 0 11 (1)
Gameiro (Sevilla) 6 0 5 11 (0)
Giovani (Villarreal) 9 1 0 10 (1)
Jorge Molina (Betis) 7 1 2 10 (1)
Oriol Riera (Osasuna) 9 0 0 9 (0)
Jonas (Valencia) 9 0 0 9 (1)
Isco (Real Madrid) 8 0 1 9 (0)
Perbet (Villarreal) 8 0 1 9 (1)
Rubén Castro (Betis) 6 1 2 9 (0)
Paco Alcácer (Valencia) 5 1 3 9 (0)
Di María (Real Madrid) 3 3 3 9 (1)
Ibai Gómez (Athletic) 8 0 0 8 (1)
Charles (Celta) 8 0 0 8 (0)
El-Arabi (Granada) 8 0 0 8 (1)
Jesé (Real Madrid) 5 3 0 8 (0)