Sharp thinking and brilliant execution by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lifted Barcelona and Real Madrid to wins at Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano respectively Sunday that mantained Real's 10-point lead over their great rivals at the top of La Liga. Messi caught the Atletico defense napping to score with a breathtaking 81st-minute free kick and secure a 2-1 success for Barca, while an audacious Ronaldo backheel gave Real a 1-0 victory against Madrid neighbor Rayo. It was a 28th league goal of the campaign for Messi, leaving him one behind Ronaldo at the top of the La Liga scoring chart. With 24 of 38 matches played, Jose Mourinho's Real has 64 points, with Pep Guardiola's Barca on 54 in second and Valencia, which lost 2-1 at home to Sevilla Sunday, 14 points further back in third. Levante, the lowly Valencia-based club which is this season's surprise package, climbed to fourth on 35 points thanks to its 2-1 win at Espanyol Saturday, although only eight points separate it from Villarreal in 17th. Also on Sunday, it was: Villarreal 2, Athletic Bilbao 2; Osasuna 2, Granada 1 and Real Sociedad 1, Mallorca 0. Messi's genius settled an intense battle at the Calderon after Atletico's Radamel Falcao had canceled out Daniel Alves's opening goal. As the home defense lined up to defend a free kick wide on the left, Messi noticed Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois out of position and curled a stunning strike over the Belgian's head into the far top corner. The goal gave Barca only its fifth win in 12 games on the road, a poor run of away form that has effectively scuppered its bid for a fourth straight title and put Real within touching distance of a first La Liga title since 2008. The decisive moment came when Ronaldo pounced on a loose ball at a 54th-minute corner and with his back to goal sent it through a crowd of players into the net. “I didn't even think when I scored,” the Portuguese told reporters. “I just hit the ball with my heel and therefore surprised the defenders and the goalkeeper,” he added. “I hit it strongly enough so they couldn't stop it. It gave us the victory, so it's worth twice us much to us.” Napoli prolongs Inter misery Napoli's late push for Serie A's third Champions League place was aided by a 1-0 home victory over beleaguered Inter Milan Sunday but wins for Udinese and Lazio kept the gap at five points. Ezequiel Lavezzi, who scored twice in Napoli's 3-1 Champions League last 16 first-leg win over Chelsea in midweek, was again on target as Inter suffered a seventh defeat in eight matches. Udinese, in third, took advantage of leader AC Milan drawing 1-1 with second-placed Juventus Saturday by cutting the gap to the top to six points following a 3-1 win at Bologna. Lazio is on the same points as Udinese after ending a difficult week on a high thanks to Miroslav Klose's 12th league goal in a 1-0 win over Fiorentina. Other results: Atalanta 4, Roma 1; Catania 3, Novara 1; Chievo 1, Cesena 0; Cagliari 1, Lecce 2.
