BARCELONA — Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema scored to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Elche Sunday, as the Spanish league leader capitalized on Barcelona's stumble to increase its advantage to four points. Madrid grasped the opportunity Barcelona had presented it with after a 1-0 defeat at home to Malaga Saturday. Elche was fortunate to escape without conceding in a first half dominated by Madrid. But Benzema tapped in a boggled clearance by Elche's defense to make the breakthrough in the 56th, and Ronaldo ended a five-round scoring drought by heading in his league-leading 29th goal in the 69th. “(Barcelona's) loss surprised us all because they were playing very well,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “This was an important game considering what happened Saturday so we could gain some distance. But this is going to go down to the last game of the season.” Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas' 500 Spanish league game was one of his most uneventful, as he was called upon just once against the outclassed hosts. Casillas set a club record for the most wins by a Madrid player in la Liga with 328. While Madrid's victory was not much of a surprise, Real Sociedad went form losing to winning its 4-3 shootout with Sevilla in a span of the final eight minutes. Athletic Bilbao also needed a late strike from Aritz Aduriz with four minutes to play to edge Rayo Vallecano 1-0 for its first home win in six rounds. Villarreal, likewise, eked out a 1-0 win over visitor Eibar thanks to Luciano Vietto's second-half strike. The defeat left Sevilla in fifth place, five points behind Valencia in the final Champions League spot, while Sociedad climbed into 10th. Lyon reclaims top spot A Nabil Fekir goal was enough for Lyon to beat Nantes 1-0 Sunday and move back to the top of the Ligue 1 table, while Marseille had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Saint-Etienne. Marseille ends the weekend in third place, four points off top spot, after it drew 2-2 at Saint-Etienne despite a brace from substitute Michy Batshuayi. Elsewhere, Montpellier boosted its chances of qualifying for Europe with a 2-0 win against Guingamp in Brittany. Nani weeps after 30m goal Nani wept with emotion after scoring an outrageous 30-meter goal for Sporting Lisbon in its 2-0 over Gil Vicente Sunday. The Portugal winger, on loan from Manchester United, controlled a throw in with his head and then unleashed a vicious, dipping shot which flew into the top corner, midway through the second-half. The 28-year-old was overcome with emotion, clearly weeping as he was mobbed by his teammates. — Agencies
