Real stay in pursuit of Barca

SundayCelta de Vigo 1 – 1 OsasunaValencia CF 2 – 3 Real MadridAthletic 2 – 1 Rayo VallecanoEspanyol 4 – 2 Real ValladolidGetafe 2 – 5 BarcelonaMADRID - A late goal from substitute Jese helped Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2 on Sunday, but they remained fpoints adrift of leaders Barcelona who came from behind to overcome Getafe 5-2 thanks to a quickfire hat-trick from Pedro.Real started sluggishly against a Valencia side who had interim coach Nico Estevez in charge following the sacking of Miroslav Djukic last week.Valencia defended well and it needed a moment of quality from Angel Di Maria to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark with a whipped shot which nestled in the corner.Real dropped two points against Osasuna last weekend as they struggled to deal with crosses and they were again undone by headers, the first from Pablo Piatti to equalise.Cristiano Ronaldo restored Real’s advantage before the break but Jeremy Mathieu headed home a corner just after the hour mark. Valencia looked capable of getting the winner until Jese scored eight minutes from time.Earlier, the signs looked ominous for Barcelona as they went 2-0 down within the first 15 minutes after Sergio Escudero and Lisandro Lopez found the net for Getafe.With Lionel Messi and Neymar missing through injury and suspension, Pedro took it upon himself to rescue Barcelona with three goals in eight blistering minutes.The battling spirit of Gerardo Martino’s side, who were also missing senior players Xavi Hernandez, Victor Valdes and Carles Puyol, shone through as they refused to cave in despite trailing for much of the first half.“We got the result we wanted and it was a good game. It was a fantastic performance from Pedro and the whole team played well overall,” Martino told a news conference.Barcelona top the table on 46 points, level with Atletico Madrid, who beat Levante on Saturday, but with a healthier goal record. Real are third on 41 points.

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Real stay in pursuit of Barca