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Madrid. Real Madrid used a second-half flurry of goals to rally for a 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon and move three points clear of Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league.

Madrid was shaken into action on Saturday by David Barral’s 53rd-minute goal, with Rafael Van der Vaart and Xabi Alonso scoring within two minutes of each other to put the home side ahead by the 57th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Gonzalo Higuain scored his 20th goal of the season in the 68th as Madrid moved onto 68 points. Barcelona, which was to play at Zaragoza on Sunday, was at 65.

Sevilla followed up its midweek Champions League exit with a 2-0 defeat at midtable Espanyol, while Pedro Leon’s 86th-minute goal earned Getafe a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao. Valladolid ended its three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna, and last-place Xerez beat Tenerife 2-1.

Sporting Gijon keeper Juan Pablo Colinas’s diving save from Higuain’s long shot in the 43rd minute was the last meaningful action of a first half devoid of excitement as neither team created real scoring opportunities until Barral’s opener.

Barral was played into space on the right side of the area and, using a teammate at the far post as a decoy, fired a powerful shot past goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Barral’s goal provoked a reaction from Madrid, with Van der Vaart controlling the rebound from Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick and volleying home a 55th-minute equalizer. Ronaldo had a part in the second as he headed a corner kick into the path of Alonso, who was alone at the far post to guide the ball home.

Miguel de las Cuevas tested Casillas in the 65th minute before Higuain extended Madrid’s lead when the Argentina striker ran into space before sliding a left-footed shot under Colinas.

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini could be out of a job even if he ends the season with a league title after Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League at the first knockout round for the sixth straight year, despite spending more than 250 million euros ($363 million) on players.

“You can’t expect to play well every game,” Pellegrini said. “We put in three goals so we have to be happy with the game we played.”

Sevilla failed to impress after getting dumped out of Europe’s top-tier competition by CSKA Moscow. It trailed from the eighth minute when Pablo Osvaldo headed home. Osvaldo made it 2-0 on the hour mark as the Argentine striker slotted home for his fourth goal in 10 games.

Leon’s equalizer closed a feisty game at the San Mames, where Athletic midfielder Pablo Orbaiz opened the scoring in the 14th but was sent off for kicking an opponent 13 minutes later.

Manuel Del Moral scored in the 32nd to level the score before Fernando Llorente put Athletic ahead again with his 10th goal of the season through a 79th-minute penalty, which came after defender Miguel Torres was sent off.

 

Associated Press