Real Madrid enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over Almeria last night.

Twenty-four hours after Barcelona dismantled Getafe 6-0 to go five points clear at the summit, Carlo Ancelotti's side were clinical against Sergi Barjuan's strugglers as a stunning James Rodriguez volley, a Mauro dos Santos own-goal and a late Alvaro Arbeloa strike sealed a routine victory.

A fifth successive league victory sees Real move on to 82 points - two behind Barcelona - with four league games remaining.

Ancelotti said afterwards: "It was a transitional match. We didn't play with a lot of intensity or with a lot of quality. We came into it on the back of a really physically and mentally tiring week. Today we took a bit of a breather, we didn't play with a lot of intensity, but we always had the scoreboard under control.

"We're not convinced that Barcelona are going to drop points; we are convinced that we can win the four games that we have left. I don't have any personal ambitions, because my trophy cabinet is already full. Only for Real Madrid, the fans, the club and my players."