Leo Messi scored the 4999th and 5000th Primera Liga goals in FC Barcelona's history as his side came from behind to defeat Racing Santander 2-1 in the El Sardinero Stadium.

Barcelona looked to be heading for a shock defeat after Nicola Zigic's penalty put Racing ahead on 56 minutes, before Messi's introduction as a substitute turned the game around.

The Argentine striker added a second goal ten minutes from time to give his side a hard fought win as they ended up with just nine players on the pitch following the late sending off of defenders Rafael Marquez and Gerard Pique.

That win keeps Barcelona 12 points clear of Real Madrid, who won 2-0 away to Numancia on Saturday night.

Numancia had the better of a dull first half, but Raul put Real Madrid ahead early in the second period and Arjen Robben sealed the win after 56 minutes.

Raul's goal was his 307th for the club and equals the all time Real Madrid scoring record, held by the legendary Alfredo di Stefano.

Two goals from David Villa kept Valencia in touch of Real Madrid as his side defeated Almeria 3-2. Valencia opened the scoring through Joaquin Sanchez, but was pegged back by a goal from Alvaro Negredo.

Villa then netted his 16th and 17th goals of the season, before a second Negredo goal left the result in the balance until the final whistle.

Deportivo la Coruna returned to winning ways with a comfortable3-0 triumph at home to Villarreal, two goals from Angel Lafita setting them on their way before Riki ended the afternoon's scoring.

Atletico Madrid fans have few reasons to be cheerful however, their side lost 2-1 at home to Valladolid and have yet to win in 2009.

A Victor Fernandez penalty sealed Valladolid's win and with the fans in the Vicente Calderon voicing their complaints towards the Directors' Box, Atletico coach Javier Aguirre could well be facing the sack in the next few hours.

One side whose fortunes have turned around in the past two months is Athletic Club Bilbao. Wednesday saw the Basque outfit qualify for the semi-finals of the King's Cup and they celebrated on Saturday night with an epic 3-2 win at home to Malaga.

Malagatwice went ahead only to be pegged back on both occasions thanks to goals from Fran Yeste and Fernando Llorente before Markel Susaeta sealed the win with a header four minutes from the end.

Elsewhere Espanyol conceded a late penalty to draw 1-1 in a relegation clash at home to Recreativo Huelva, while Osasuna won another bottom of the table duel 1-0 against Mallorca. Walter Pandiani scored the only goal of the game after three minutes, while the visitors had two players sent off.

Betis surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to Getafe and things would have been worse but for Betis keeper Ricardo Martins, who saved a late penalty from Roberto Soldado after Uche had scored twice for the visitors.

Finally Sevilla rested key players for next week's Cup semifinal against Athletic and paid the price losing 1-0 to Sporting Gijon thanks to a goal from Diego Castro.

(Xinhua News Agency Feburary 2, 2009)