Real Madrid crushed Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu to edge closer to the Spanish title but Villarreal's 1-0 victory at Real Betis has put their celebrations on hold for at least another week.

Madrid's victory means that with four games left to play they remain 10 points clear of Villarreal at the top of the table on 75 points and will claim their 31st league title if they win next week's match at Osasuna.

Third-placed Barcelona, who are four points behind the Yellow Submarine after their 2-0 loss at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, can now only hope to dispute second place.

Argentine striker Javier Saviola paved the way for Madrid's victory when he took advantage of a rare appearance in the starting line-up to poke home after Bilbao goalkeeper Armando had spilled a shot from Robinho in the 13th minute.

Home goalie Iker Casillas halted a Bilbao comeback when he produced a great one-handed stop to save a Joseba Garmendia penalty given after defender Gabriel Heinze had bundled into Fernando Llorente in the area late in the first half.

Madrid dominated after the break and gained a deserved second when Arjen Robben steered home from close range after a superb pass from Gonzalo Higuain and the Argentine wrapped up the win with a classy curling strike of his own two minutes later.

Real Betis 0-1 Villarreal

Villarreal clinched their win over a revived Real Betis side thanks to a breathtaking goal from midfielder Marcos Senna.

The Spain international fired the ball into the top corner from a few yards inside the Betis half after spotting 'keeper Casto off his line in the 16th minute - a goal reminiscent of David Beckham's strike against Wimbledon in the nineties.

Espanyol 1-1 Real Zaragoza

Zaragoza slipped into the relegation zone after this unsatisfactory draw against an out-of-sorts Espanyol side.

Spain winger Albert Riera put Espanyol in front just before the hour when he curled into the far corner and, although Brazil striker Ricardo Oliveira equalised with an 84th-minute penalty, it was not enough to keep the visitors out of the drop zone.

Getafe 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Atletico remain in fourth spot after a fortunate draw against neighbours Getafe.

Uruguayan striker Juan Albin put Getafe in front when he rifled home a volley in the 13th minute.

Sergio Aguero equalised before the break, hooking the ball past Argentine compatriot Roberto Abbondanzieri after beating David Belenguer in a tussle on the edge of the area.

Atletico 'keeper Leo Franco saved his side from defeat when he pulled off a superb stop to turn a Ruben de la Red penalty round the post six minutes from time.

Mallorca 3-1 Racing Santander

Mallorca dealt a blow to Racing's hopes of claiming a Champions League place with this emphatic win over the Cantabrians.

Defender Jose Carlos Nunes put the islanders in front with a header early in the second half and Argentine youngster Oscar Trejo made it 2-0 after intercepting a poor back-pass.

Racing midfielder Aldo Duscher pulled one back from the penalty spot before Dani Guiza wrapped up with a late breakaway to take his tally for the season to 22.

Recreativo 2-0 Levante

Recreativo condemned Levante to relegation and boosted their own chances of survival with this home win.

Turkish striker Ersen Martin struck the first goal when he smashed home in the ninth minute after a neat cut-back from Florent Sinama Pongolle and then provided the assist for Javier Camunas to score the second.

Valencia 3-0 Osasuna

Valencia got off to a winning start under new coach Voro and earned their first points after four straight defeats under previous boss Ronald Koeman.

Striker David Villa opened from the spot after he went down when Osasuna 'keeper Ricardo appeared to brush the ball away from his feet as he entered the area. Ricardo was controversially red-carded as a result of the incident.

Mata made it 2-0 soon after the break and Joaquin wrapped up with a cool finish late in the game.

Valladolid 1-0 Almeria

Valladolid forward Victor missed a first-half penalty, but a superb stoppage-time strike from midfielder Jonathan Sesma spared his blushes and earned Valladolid a valuable win that kept them four points above the drop zone.

Reuters