The Portuguese reached another milestone as he inspired Real Madrid to victory at Rayo Vallecano, while the Argentine scored a stunning strike for Barcelona against Almeria

There are still four points separating Liga leaders Barcelona and second-placed Real Madrid after the 30th round of the Primera Division.



Barca thrashed Almeria 4-0 at Camp Nou to open the gap to seven momentarily, but Madrid survived a shaky first 45 minutes to overcome Rayo Vallecano 2-0 in a derby in the capital later on Wednesday to close it back to four.



There were also saw wins for Atletico, Eibar, Sevilla, Getafe and Espanyol in the latest round of the championship. And here, Goal picks out the standout performers from the latest Liga action...

In goal, Iker Casillas silenced his recent critics with a superb showing at Vallecas that included several vital interventions.



Full-back Lillo moved inside and helped Eibar to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Malaga with a solid showing in central defence, while Nicolas Otamendi was in imperious form for Valencia as Nuno's side drew away to Athletic Club and Jose Gimenez stood out for Atletico in the absence of Diego Godin as Diego Simeone's side beat Real Sociedad and claimed their fifth clean sheet in a row.



James Rodriguez scored a fine goal for Madrid at Vallecas on only his second start since returning from injury and fellow Colombian Fredy Hinestroza grabbed the winner as Getafe secured a vital 1-0 victory at Elche. Elsewhere, Xavi returned to the Barcelona side and was superb in the 4-0 win over Almeria and Adri Embarba was excellent for Rayo despite their 2-0 loss to Real.



In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo scored one - his 300th for the club - set up another and should have had a penalty as he dug Madrid out of a hole at Vallecas. Earlier, a stunning strike from Lionel Messi set the Catalans on their way to victory against Almeria, while Felipe Caicedo scored two in Espanyol's brilliant 3-0 win at Villarreal on Thursday.