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Real and Barcelona both victorious

Spanish striker Raul made his return to the Real side in their easy win

MADRID, Spain -- Real Madrid kept up the pressure on leaders Barcelona with a sixth consecutive Primera Liga win, sweeping aside lowly Alaves 3-0 at the Bernabeu, to move up to second place.

However, the Catalan side remain seven points clear of their rivals after crushing Real Betis 5-1 at the Nou Camp.

Real had scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of their 4-0 King's Cup semifinal victory over Real Zaragoza during the week and were quick out of the blocks against Alaves.

Guti opened the scoring in the sixth minute and Robinho added a second in the 11th but they had to wait until the 77th before adding a third through Cicinho.

Meanwhile, Villarreal cruised to a 4-0 home win over Espanyol to boost their stuttering league campaign, as they climbed two places to sixth.

Alessio Tacchinardi, Marcos Senna and Diego Forlan set the home side on their way before Hector Font added a fourth eight minutes from time.

With an eye on Arsenal's visit in the Champions League first knockout round next week Real coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro rested Cicinho, Jonathan Woodgate, Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos.

But it made little difference as Real stormed ahead when Robinho fed Guti on the corner of the area for the midfielder to fire low into the far corner.

Five minutes later Guti lifted a ball into the area for Julio Baptista, who crashed an overhead kick against the post. Robinho despatched the rebound into the roof of the net.

Alaves president Dimitry Piterman had sacked his coach Juan Carlos Oliva on Thursday for refusing to follow orders over team selection and opted for an offensive lineup.

Changing the formation that had earned the struggling outfit 10 points from the last 15, Piterman's three forwards rarely threatened as they were starved of possession.

Real captain Raul returned as a second-half substitute after three months out with a knee injury to a standing ovation in the 66th minute.

His fellow substitutes Antonio Cassano and Cicinho combined for the Brazilian to score at the near post 13 minutes from time.

Ronaldinho inspirational

Meanwhile, Ronaldinho was in inspirational form as he returned to lead Barcelona to a thumping win.

The Brazilian playmaker, who was suspended for the league defeats against Atletico Madrid and Valencia, played a part in Henrik Larsson's opener after 17 minutes, and triggered Melli's own goal in the 28th.

He then went on to score two himself from free kicks but it was not all plain sailing for the home side who had keeper Victor Valdes to thank for a number of crucial saves.

Joaquin pulled a goal back for Betis in the 61st minute but Argentine Lionel Messi came off the bench to make it five with just six minutes left.

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