- Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain score twice as Real maintain grip on La Liga lead
- Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao to 2-0 to stay six points behind in second place
- AC Milan held to a 1-1 draw at Catania in Serie A; Second-place Juventus play Napoli on Sunday
(CNN) -- Real Madrid took another decisive step towards their first La Liga title in four seasons with a thumping 5-1 win at Osasuna on Saturday.
Karim Benzema got Jose Mourinho's side off the mark with a sweetly struck volley in the seventh minute before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first of the night in the 37th minute.
Three minutes later the game was effectively over as Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain made it 3-0.
Osasuna briefly rallied after the break as Juan Francisco 'Nino' headed home to give the home fans some hope.
But any chances of a comeback were snuffed out 20 minutes later when Ronaldo added a fourth (his 37th of the league campaign) with Higuain claimed his second in the 77th minute to complete the rout.
Osasuna substitute Roland Lamah was sent off for a second bookable offence late in the game to compound the misery for the home supporters.
Barcelona remain six points behind in second place after a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Nou Camp.
Andres Iniesta put Barca in front five minutes before halftime blasting the ball into the roof of the net after receiving a pass from Lionel Messi.
And the Argentine was on hand to score from the penalty spot in the 58th minute after Cristian Tello was brought down by Javi Martinez.
Real Zaragoza and Sporting Gijon swap places at the foot of the table after Zaragoza edged to a 2-1 win at the Estadio El Molinon.
Granada earned a vital 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Racing Santander to stave off relegation worries.
Meanwhile in Serie A, leaders AC Milan dropped points on the road as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Catania on Saturday.
Brazilian Robinho gave the reigning champions the lead in the 34th minute but had to settle for a point after Nicolas Spolli equalized in the 57th minute of the second half.
Second-placed Juventus can move to within two points of Milan if they beat Napoli on Sunday.
In Saturday's other fixture, third-place Lazio suffered a 3-1 defeat to Parma at the Ennio Tardini Stadium.
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