|  Second half goals from Rafael Márquez and Samuel Eto'o (photo) were enough for Barcelona to beat Real Mallorca in Palma last night, though the home side dominated for long periods and created sufficient opportunities to earn themselves at least a point.
The win closes the gap on leaders Real Madrid - who take on Real Zaragoza at the Santiago Bernabeu later today - to just four points though local rivals, Espanyol, kept up their own title challenge with a convincing 3-0 home victory against Villarreal, who could be displaced from the final Champions League spot if Atletico Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruña at the Riazor stadium.
With Ronaldinho and Messi both sidelined by injury, Mallorca enjoyed the best of a faltering first half with the best chances falling to Daniel Guiza - whose effort was saved by Valdes - then Angelos Basinas, who fired wide.
The breakthrough came against the run of play just after the hour mark when Márquez was left unmarked to head home Xavi's inswinging corner from the left.
After having a goal disallowed for offside, substitute Thierry Henry came close before Samuel Eto'o, who refused to celebrate scoring against his former club, put the result beyond doubt deep into inury time with a swerving long range strike that Mallorcan stopper, German Lux, could do nothing with.
Saturday, 5th January
Mallorca 0-2 Barcelona
Espanyol 3-0 Villarreal
Liga table, 5th January
1 Real Madrid 41
2 Barcelona 37*
3 Espanyol 36*
4 Villarreal 32*
5 Atletico Madrid 31
6 Racing Santander 26
7 Valencia 26
8 Sevilla 23
9 Real Zaragoza 21
10 Getafe 21
11 Real Mallorca 21*
12 Osasuna 20
13 Recreativo Huelva 20
14 Athletic Bilbao 19
15 Almeria 19
16 Murcia 19
17 Real Valladolid 18
18 Real Betis 18
19 Deportivo La Coruna 17
20 Levante 7
*played 18, the rest have played 17
Sunday, 6th January
Deportivo La Coruna vs Atletico Madrid
Getafe vs Valladolid
Murcia vs Osasuna
Racing Santander vs Athletic Bilbao
Recreativo Huelva vs Almeria
Valencia vs Levante
Real Madrid vs Real Zaragoza
Sevilla vs Real Betis |
