Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made it eight goals in his last six games with a brace as Real Madrid eased to a 3-0 win over Almeria to cut Barcelona's lead to just three points. Legendary Real old boy Hugo Sanchez, now coach at Almeria, took the pre-match attention on his return to the Santiago Bernabeu, but it was Huntelaar who stole the headlines with a clinical second-half double.

Brazilian Marcelo, jeered by his own fans this season, silenced the doubters with a 23rd-minute opener before Huntelaar showed his predatory instincts in the 52nd and 65th minutes to wrap up the spoils. Barcelona host Malaga at Camp Nou today aiming to restore their advantage to six points.

Almeria's top-scorer Alvaro Negredo could not face his old club due to an agreement between the two sides, so promising 19-year-old Argentinian Pablo Piatti, who has been likened to Lionel Messi due to his speed and diminutive 1.63m (5ft 4in) frame, started in attack. Huntelaar kept his place up front with Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain dropping to the substitutes bench. Just after the quarter-hour mark, Piatti tried an ambitious overhead kick in the penalty area that flew metres over and drew applause from Sanchez who was famous for his acrobatic overhead kicks.

Real struck first, though, on 23 minutes with Marcelo driving home from outside the area with his weaker right foot. Marcelo hit the crossbar early in the second period before Huntelaar rifled a volley into the roof of the net. The Dutch forward added a second with a neat finish after Almeria failed to clear their lines.

Barcelona must now respond against Malaga, as Real continue to keep the pressure on. Much talk this week centered around Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, the league's top-scorer with 23 goals, with speculation that he will leave the club this summer, but manager Pep Guardiola insists the striker has yet to make up his mind.

"The press have given the impression that Eto'o is already out of Barca," said Guardiola. "He doesn't deserve this. He will decide his future when the time is right for him."

In other matches, Valencia won for the first time since the beginning of February with a 1-0 victory at Racing Santander, who missed a late penalty, lifting them up to sixth. At the bottom, Getafe moved two points clear of the drop zone with a 2-1 win, while Numancia overcame Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline and are now three points from safety. Osasuna climbed out of the bottom three with a goal in the dying seconds, securing a 1-0 win over troubled Espanyol, who prop up the standings and are seven points from safety.

With Villarreal and Sevilla winning on 21 March, the pressure is on Atletico Madrid to defeat Real Mallorca later today and maintain their UEFA Champions League bid. Atletico are five points behind fourth-placed Villarreal who defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on 21 March.