
Magic Messi —
Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored for the 18th consecutive league game as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. The striker scored twice to take his tally to 55 for the season with 42 of those coming in the league.

Deadly Diego —
Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid kept up the pressure on second place Real Madrid with a 2-0 win at Osasua. Diego Simeone's side is just one point behind Real following its latest victory.

Malaga meltdown —
After claiming its place in the quarterfinals of the European Champions League for the first time in its history, Malaga was brought back down to earth with a bump with a 2-0 defeat by Espanyol.

Warning Hazard —
Eden Hazard was on target and Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea as it moved into third place in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over West Ham.

Berbatov's back —
Dimitar Berbatov came back to haunt his former employer by scoring the only goal of the game as Fulham grabbed a shock 1-0 win over London rival Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Muscle man —
Edinson Cavani was back to his best following a mini goal-drought after his double ensured Napoli moved to within nine points of leader Juventus courtesy of a 3-2 win over Atalanta.

Why always me? —
Mario Balotelli scored twice as AC Milan claimed a 2-0 win over Palermo at San Siro. The striker scored from the penalty spot in the first half before doubling his account for the afternoon by lashing home from close-range.

Frankly speaking —
Georg Niedermeier headed a second half winner as Stuttgart came from behind to defeat fourth place Eintracht Frankfurt. Stefan Aigner had given Eintracht a 17th minute lead but goals from Vedad Ibisevic and Niedermeier sealed the points for Stuttgart.

Beckham's back —
David Beckham played the full 90 minutes of Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 game at Saint-Etienne but could not prevent his team from squandering a two-goal lead as it was held to a 2-2 draw. Beckham returned to the scene of his infamous red card a the 1998 World Cup where he was sent off while playing for England.


