A roundup of Sunday’s action in Spain and Italy’s top flights:
[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s La Liga coverage ]
Las Palmas 1-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid won away to Las Palmas, via goals scored by Sergio Ramos and Casemiro on a pair of corner kicks (below videos) — not exactly the glitz and glamor of world-class screams scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema or James Rodriguez, is it? — to remain right where they started the weekend: third place in the league table, 12 points back of leaders Barcelona and four off the pace of their capital city rivals Atletico Madrid.
GOAL! @SergioRamos leaps into the air and heads the ball straight into the net. #LaLiga #LPAvRMA https://t.co/JNwTdhYfyB
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 13, 2016
AND JUST LIKE THAT! @RealMadrid SCORES in the final minutes to regain the lead. #LaLiga #LPAvRMA https://t.co/djRH353koD
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 13, 2016
Sevilla 4-2 Villarreal
In the race for UEFA Champions League qualification (top four places), 4th-place Villarreal got hammered away to a 10-man, 5th-place Sevilla side. The gap between fifth and fourth is now just five points. Vicente Iborra opened the scoring for Sevilla on 23 minutes, but a quick-fire double (27th and 39th minutes) by Cedric Bakambu put the visitors a goal ahead before halftime. Victor Ruiz leveled the game once again with an own goal in the 51st minute, and Yevhen Konoplyanka scored the eventual winner on 65 minutes. Reyes provided the late insurance goal (91st minute), 12 minutes after Ever Banega was sent of and Sevilla were reduced to 10 men.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Levante 1-0 Valencia
Athletic Bilbao 3-1 Real Betis
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Barcelona | 29 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 84 | 22 | 62 | 14-1-0 | 10-2-2 | 75 |
| Atlético Madrid | 29 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 12 | 33 | 10-3-1 | 11-1-3 | 67 |
| Real Madrid | 29 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 83 | 28 | 55 | 12-1-2 | 7-5-2 | 63 |
| Villarreal | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 11-2-2 | 4-6-4 | 53 |
| Sevilla | 29 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 43 | 31 | 12 | 13-0-2 | 0-9-5 | 48 |
| Athletic | 29 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 47 | 37 | 10 | 8-3-3 | 6-2-7 | 47 |
| Celta Vigo | 29 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 7-4-4 | 6-2-6 | 45 |
Palermo 0-1 Napoli
Juventus’ lead atop the Serie A table remains just three, thanks to Napoli’s 1-0 away win over Palermo on Sunday. Gonzalo Higuain scored the game’s only goal, from the penalty spot. That makes it 27 goals in 29 league games for the Argentine, nearly double that of Serie A’s next closest scorer (Paulo Dybala - 14).
Udinese 1-2 Roma
Roma also won away on Sunday, 2-1 over 15th-place Udinese, on the back of goals scored Edin Dzeko (15th minute) and Alessandro Florenzi (74th). Bruno Fernandes grabbed Udinese’s late consolation goal in the 85th minute. Roma remain eight points back of Udinese, and are now five points clear of Fiorentina and Inter Milan in the race for Italy’s third and final Champions League place.
Fiorentina 1-1 Hellas Verona
Fiorentina were within three points of Roma heading into the weekend, but the Viola dropped a pair of points at home against Verona on Sunday. Mauro Zarate scored the game’s opening goal in the 40th minute, but having failed to find a second goal, Fiorentina conceded the equalizer to Eros Pisano in the 86th minute.
Elsewhere in Serie A
Chievo 0-0 AC Milan
Genoa 3-2 Torino
Carpi 2-1 Frosinone
Lazio 2-0 Atalanta
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Juventus | 29 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 51 | 15 | 36 | 11-2-1 | 10-2-3 | 67 |
| Napoli | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 59 | 23 | 36 | 11-3-0 | 8-4-3 | 64 |
| Roma | 29 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 61 | 30 | 31 | 10-3-1 | 7-5-3 | 59 |
| Fiorentina | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 10-3-2 | 6-3-5 | 54 |
| Inter Milan | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 10-2-3 | 6-4-4 | 54 |
| AC Milan | 29 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 39 | 30 | 9 | 9-3-2 | 4-6-5 | 48 |
