Real Madrid opened up the gap between them and Barcelona to nine points after they beat Real Murcia 1-0 despite being down to 10 men for much of the match.

The league title is now firmly in their hands after Wesley Sneijder"s 58th-minute goal proved the difference between the defending champions and the struggling Andalucian side, who are now eight points from safety in 19th place.

The Dutch playmaker capitalised on Murcia's failure to clear a Raul flick-on and pounced to fire a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box to put seal the win for Los Meringues.

Madrid were without the suspended Sergio Ramos, so Miguel Torres came in at right-back, but was off the field after just 20 minutes when his tackle from behind on Dani Aquino landed right on the midfielders ankle. Referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, famed for his liberal distribution of red and yellow cards, was fully justified in sending Torres off for dangerous play.

Murcia, who look likely to return to the second tier of Spanish football after just one season back in the top flight, did not display much ambition to go out and win the match, even with the one-man advantage, and midfielder Arzo's header in the opening five minutes proved to be their clearest chance of the match.

Referee Gonzalez turned down penalty appeals form both sides, and even booked Madrid midfielder Guti for diving after one incident in the area.

ALMERIA 1-0 VILLARREAL

Villarreal's title hopes all but evaporated after they lost 1-0 at Almeria.

Defender Santiago Acasiete stabbed home from close range with just eight minutes to go when the visitors failed to clear a corner.

Manuel Pellegrini's side played most of the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Diego Lopez was sent off for a wild lunge on Albert Crusat in the 16th minute.

Striker Guiseppe Rossi was sacrificed by Pellegrini in order to bring on young goalkeeper Juan Carlos Sanchez.

His first task was to face the penalty from Murcia's top scorer, Alvaro Negredo, but the former Real Madrid man blasted his spot-kick over the bar.

Juan Carlos survived that scare, but almost gifted Almeria the lead when his uncertainty saw him spill a couple of elementary saves, forcing his defenders to come to his rescue with clearances off the goal line.

Villarreal played much of the remainder of the match with every player except striker Nihat Kahveci behind the ball, and they rode their luck to survive until half-time on level terms.

That pressure did not relent in the second half, but Juan Carlos redeemed himself for his first-half nerves with excellent saves from a Negredo header and a long-range effort from Miguel Angel Corona.

Villarreal's failure to earn any points means that Real Madrid are now 10 points clear of them and nine ahead of Barcelona with just six games left.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport