Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to earn 10-man Real Madrid a 4-3 win over Real Sociedad after goalkeeper Antonio Adan was sent off in the sixth minute, but they remained 16 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga yesterday.

The unbeaten leaders crushed city rivals Espanyol 4-0 at the Nou Camp, two goals from Pedro and one apiece by Lionel Messi and Xavi securing their 17th victory in 18 games this season.

Barca welcomed coach Tito Vilanova back to the dugout after a throat operation just over two weeks ago, and he watched his side destroy Espanyol in the opening half hour.

For the second game in a row, Jose Mourinho courted controversy by dropping captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas to the bench, but the Spain international was soon in action at the Bernabeu after Adan was shown a straight red card. Adan misplaced a pass and then brought down Carlos Vela for a penalty.

Casillas was unable to save Xabi Prieto’s ensuing spot-kick which cancelled out Karim Benzema’s second-minute strike.

Although Prieto grabbed two more for the Basque side, Sami Khedira and Real’s leading scorer Ronaldo secured the points to end a run of three games without a win for Mourinho’s misfiring side.

Results
Celta Vigo vs Valladolid 3-1; Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad 4-3; Barcelona vs Espanyol 4-0; Mallorca vs Atletico Madrid 1-1; Sevilla vs Osasuna 1-0.

Leading standings: Barcelona 52; A. Madrid 41; Real Madrid 36; Malaga, R. Betis 31; Levante 30; Valencia 27; R. Sociedad, R. Vallecano 25.

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