Spanish leader Barcelona crushes Malaga 4-0
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-05 16:25

Samuel Eto'o scored twice Saturday to help FC Barcelona beat lowly Malaga 4-0 and extend its lead in the Spanish league to 10 points.

Deco and midfielder Andres Iniesta also scored for an impressive Barcelona, which maintained its perfect record at the Camp Nou and won for the 11th time in 14 matches this season.

``The key was the work, the organization and the seriousness shown by my players. A lot of quality went into this result,'' Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said.

In another game, Xisco Munoz scored a late goal to earn Valencia a 1-0 win over Albacete, lifting the defending champion into third place. In Saturday's late match, host Real Sociedad ended Real Betis' 10-match unbeaten run, 1-0.

Barcelona leads the league with 35 points, while Real Madrid and Valencia have 25 each. Madrid, however, has a game in hand. Espanyol is fourth with 23, while Betis stays fifth with 21.

On Sunday, Madrid visits Villarreal, while Espanyol plays at Zaragoza. Also, it's: Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao; Racing Santander vs. Deportivo La Coruna; Mallorca vs. Numancia; Levante vs. Getafe; and Atletico Madrid vs. Osasuna.

Barcelona, which had seven first-team players out with injuries, proved far superior to a Malaga side which went into the game without a win in nine games.

Barcelona took the lead in the 25th minute when Eto'o _ the league's leading scorer _ seized on Deco's through ball, darted between two Malaga defenders and sidefooted past goalkeeper Juan Calatayud.

Malaga fell further behind four minutes later when Deco hit the net with a fierce shot from outside the area for his third goal of the season.

Barcelona, which visits Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, added a third goal in the 72nd minute when Iniesta fired home from close range after receiving the ball from Malaga defender Fernando Sanz's tackle on Deco.

Eto'o doubled his tally in the final minute, firing a rising shot past Calatayud after Iniesta had played the ball back from the goal line.

The Cameroon striker's goal tally is four more than his nearest rival in the scoring chart, Betis' Ricardo Oliveira.

Valencia, perhaps distracted by Tuesday's crucial Champions League match against Werder Bremen, gave a punchless display in a dull first half but still extended its unbeaten run to four games.

Albacete, whose three-goal home tally this season is the lowest in the division, failed to press its advantage with striker Ruben Castro spurning a good chance midway through the first half.

The game livened up after halftime with Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares doing well to save a goal-bound drive from Albacete's Chile striker Mark Gonzalez in the 59th minute.

Valencia was then lucky to survive in the 70th minute when Albacete midfielder Pablo Redondo hit the post and a minute later Valencia defender Curro Torres inadvertently headed onto the same post.

In the 87th minute, Valencia scored when Xisco shot home following a corner.

``Albacete had the goal chances and we didn't create them. We didn't play very well and we lacked initiative,'' Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri said.

Albacete stays in 16th place with 14 points.

Serbia-Montenegro striker Darko Kovacevic chipped in Sociedad's only goal over advancing goalkeeper Toni Doblas in the 37th minute after receiving a through pass by midfielder Mikel Aranburu.

Sociedad rises to 12th with 18 points.

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