Madrid held, Espanyol climbs out of bottom three

Without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho's side Saturday looked inoffensive and ended up playing the last 15 minutes with a player less after substitute Kaka was shown two yellow cards in less than 15 minutes, reports Xinhua.

Osasuna worked hard but their final ball let them down too often to take advantage of a Real Madrid side that looks as if it will now concentrate on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey knockout competitions.

Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia's 24th minute goal gave Espanyol a 1-0 win at home to fellow strugglers, Celta Vigo, a result which lifts the Barcelona based side out of the bottom three.

Roberto Soldado scored twice as Valencia continued their improvement under coach Ernesto Valverde with a 2-0 win at home to Sevilla.

The Spain international scored from close range after 52 minutes and rounded off the night with a header two minutes from time to lift his side up to seventh place in the table.

Sevilla are struggling for form and coach Michel Gonzalez's job is increasingly under threat.