Madrid: Gareth Bale scored twice as Real Madrid recovered from two consecutive league defeats to beat Rayo Vallecano 5-0 on Saturday.


Real Madrid's Welsh striker Gareth Bale celebrates scoring during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Pic/AFP

Atletico Madrid remain top of La Liga as they came from behind away to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1, while Barcelona rounded off a fine week by overcoming stiff resistance from local rivals Espanyol to win 1-0 thanks to a late Lionel Messi penalty.