"Real" crushed "Espanyol's resistance without Casillas removed from the pitch (3 VIDEO) © EuroFootball.com

On Sunday, in the matches of the 23rd round of the "Liga BBVA" championship in Spain, the Madrid "Real" footballers won a victory and reduced the gap from the leading team "Barcelona" to 5 points.

In the away match with Barcelona's "Espanyol" team, the 'Royal' club complicates their situation in the 85th second, when the 'morengs' goalkeeper and team captain Iker Casillas was sent off the field for a violation outside the penalty area.

However, it was precisely the Jose Mourinho's team playing in inferiority that scored the only goal of the match - Marcelo scored in the 24th minute with a sharp breakthrough.

The guests could have increased their lead, but striker Emmanuel Adebayor, borrowed from "Man City", missed several good opportunities. Meanwhile, 'parrot' goalie Antonio Adan, appearing for the first time in the top division of Spanish football, did not create more dangerous moments near his goal.

In the battle between La Coruña's "Deportivo" and "Villarreal", the hosts triumphed with a score of 1-0.

Results:

Alicante's "Hercules" 2 - 1 "Zaragoza"

4' [0 - 1] Braulio

80' [1 - 1] F. Farinos

89' [2 - 1] D. Trezeguet

Valencia's "Levante" 1 - 0 "Almeria"

52' [1 - 0] F. Caicedo

"Malaga" 2 - 2 Madrid "Getafe"

8' [0 - 1] Miku

23' [0 - 2] A. Colunga

80' [1 - 2] J. Baptista (from a penalty kick)

90' [2 - 2] S. Rondon

San Sebastian's "Sociedad" 1 - 0 Pamplona's "Osasuna"

74' [1 - 0] R. Tamudo

Player A.P. Damia ("Osasuna") was sent off the field in the 90th minute.

La Coruña's "Deportivo" 1 - 0 "Villarreal"

60' [1 - 0] A. Lopo

Barcelona's "Espanyol" 0 - 1 Madrid "Real"

24' [0 - 1] Marcelo

Player I. Casillas ("Real") was sent off the field in the 2nd minute.