Real had claimed only four points in their previous five league games, giving the chasing pack real hope of hunting down the Bernabeu giants.

But they halted their slide against lowly Malaga, with Roberto Carlos coming to the rescue just after the hour when he crashed in a typically thunderous 25-yard shot.

Sevilla strengthened their bid for a top-three finish with a narrow 1-0 victory at Real Mallorca, who are now surely doomed to relegation from the Primera Liga.

However the match was overshadowed by a worrying incident just before the break which saw Mallorca’s 24-year-old Venezuelan midfielder Juan Arango taken to hospital.

Five minutes before the interval, Javi Navarro caught Arango’s face with a flailing arm, and the Mallorca player suffered spasms as he was on the ground.

After regaining consciousness, he was stretchered off the pitch to be taken to hospital.

Valencia rekindled their hopes of playing in next season’s Champions League with a 3-1 win against Getafe.

First-half goals from Francisco Rufete and Marco Di Vaio gave the champions a 2-0 interval lead and Miguel Angel Mista added a third from the penalty spot after the break.