Advantage Barça as Depor defense frustrates Real

Barcelona's seven-point lead at the top of La Liga was restored on Saturday as Leo Messi, David Villa and Pedro sealed a 3-0 win for the Catalan club in Mallorca and Real Madrid was held to a Galician goalless tie at Deportivo.

As in its Champions League match against Lyon on Tuesday, Real was denied victory in the Riazor stadium by the intervention of the woodwork- Cristiano Ronaldo and Emmanuel Adebayor both struck the upright late in the second half- the solid work of Depor goalkeeper Dani Aranzubia and collective defending by the host.

"We played against a goalkeeper and 10 defenders," Real coach José Mourinho said, also suggesting the Liga schedulers had played a part in drawing his side's latest blank. More pertinent to Real's recent woes has been the slump in Ronaldo's hitherto extraordinary goal-scoring form coupled with Karim Benzema's continued profligacy; the France striker could have sealed the match but failed to strike a Ronaldo cross cleanly when just a couple yards in front of goal.

The Portuguese, meanwhile, has scored just twice in Real's last seven league outings, both goals coming in a straightforward 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad. During the same period, Real has lost to Osasuna, tied with Almería and scraped past Mallorca and Espanyol by a single goal.

"I don't know what would have happened if we had played on Sunday but it would have been fairer," Mourinho said. "We could have given an extra day off to those who were the most tired and trained an extra day. The calendar is set by people who know what they are doing. They do what they want and they will carry on like that."

Ronaldo's recess has allowed Messi to take the lead in the pair's battle for the Liga top scorer pichichi trophy- Messi has 26, Ronaldo one fewer- and the Portuguese also has David Villa to consider after the Spanish striker netted his 17th league goal of the season in the Balearics. Villa now has 21 in all competitions, the same number Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in Barça's year-long dalliance with the employment of a target man last season.

Talk of the league being over on each occasion Real stumbles is a tribute to Barcelona's consistency, but both Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have been in the sport long enough to know that little can be taken for granted with 13 matches of the domestic season remaining. "There's still plenty of league left," the Barça coach said. "We still have to go to Valencia, to Villarreal, to the Bernabéu..."

"Seven points is a lot but mathematically it's not an impossible situation," Mourinho noted. "We're going to continue, and that's it."

Other results: Atlético 2-2 Sevilla; Espanyol 4-1 Real Sociedad; Sporting 0-0 Zaragoza; Levante 2-1 Osasuna; Hércules 0-0 Getafe; Racing 2-2 Villarreal.