Real rout Espanyol to restore 10-point lead in La Liga

(CNN) -- Real Madrid continued their ruthless charge towards the La Liga title with a 5-0 rout of Espanyol Sunday to maintain their 10-point lead at the top. Cristiano Ronaldo set them on their way in the Santiago Bernabeu with his 30th league goal of the season. Gonzalo Higuain with a double and one each from Sami Khedira and Kaka sealed the Real win after reigning champions Barcelona had cut the gap to seven points with a 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon Saturday. Ronaldo's 23rd minute opener after Mesut Ozil and Higuain had set him up ignited another fine display from Real. German international Khedira added the second before the break with his first league goal for Los Blancos. Within 90 seconds of the restart, Higuain added the third after excellent work from Kaka, who scored a deserved fourth on 67 minutes. Brazil star Kaka also supplied Higuain with the pass for this second of the night and 15th league goal of the season. Thomas: Abramovich was right to sack AVB Earlier, Valencia won 1-0 at Granada 1-0 with a Sofiane Feghouli goal to strengthe their grip on third position. They are six points clear of Athletic Bilbao, who moved to fourth after beating local rivals Real Sociedad 2-0. In Italy's Serie A, Claudio Ranieri's position at Inter Milan has been placed into further doubt after they were held 2-2 in the San Siro by lowly Catania. It could have been worse for Ranieri's team after they trailed to Alejandro Gomez and Mariano Izco goals before the break. But Diego Forlan pulled one back after 71 minutes -- incredibly Inter's first in 541 minutes -- before the Uruguayan set up Diego Milito for the equalizer. Inter remain in seventh place in Serie A, 11 points off the Champions League places. "The team knew how to react. We looked at each other in the dressing room at half-time and it was a delicate moment," Ranieri told AFP. Lazio beat city rivals Roma 2-1 in a stormy capital derby that saw Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg sent off after just 10 minutes in conceding a penalty. Hernanes scored from the spot, but Roma leveled after 16 minutes when Fabio Borini found the target. But Lazio's one-man advantage paid off when skipper Stefano Mauri volleyed home in the 62nd minute as they claimed a league double over their neighbors. Lazio are up to third with 48 points, three less than second-place Juventus and six off AC Milan in top spot. In the Bundesliga, Borussia Moenchengladbach's title challenge faltered as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at mid-table Nuremberg Sunday. Alexander Esswein set up Albert Bunjaku for the 87th minute winner to leave Moenchengladbach eight points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.