Getafe, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona scored five unanswered goals, including a hat trick from Pedro, to rally for a 5-2 victory over Getafe on Sunday at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
The hosts got off the mark quickly on Sunday as Sergio Escudero found the back of the net just 10 minutes in and Lisandro Lopez doubled the advantage four minutes later.
But the defending champions roared back as Pedro pulled his club within one with a goal in the 34th minute before equalizing in the 41st minute and finishing his treble two minutes later to give the Catalans a quick 3-2 margin at the break.
Getafe never recovered after conceding three goals in such a short span, and Barcelona poured it on in the second half as Cesc Fabregas hit the back of the net 18 minutes from time and finished his brace with a penalty kick in the 72nd minute to complete the rout for the Catalan club.
The result sees Barcelona maintain its place atop La Liga with 46 points, while Getafe remains in eighth place on 23 points.
Real Madrid 3, Valencia 2
Valencia, Spain - Jese's late second-half goal was the difference on Sunday as Real Madrid hung on to top Valencia, 3-2, at the Mestalla.
Real Madrid opened the scoring 28 minutes into proceedings through Angel Di Maria, but the hosts netted an equalizer in the 34th minute through Pablo Piatti.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck five minutes before the break for Madrid, but again Valencia had an answer as Jeremy Mathieu made it 2-2 in the 62nd minute.
Jese then struck eight minutes from time to hand all three points to Real Madrid as they finish 2013 in third place in La Liga, five points behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Athletic Bilbao 2, Rayo Vallecano 1
Bilbao, Spain - Moreno Mikel Rico's second-half strike held up as the difference on Sunday as Athletic Bilbao came away with a 2-1 result over Rayo Vallecano at the San Mames.
Coming off a comfortable 4-0 home win over Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey, the home side opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Mikel San Jose found the back of the net.
But Rayo responded with an equalizer in the second half when Alberto Bueno struck in the 66th minute.
Rayo couldn't hold onto its away point, however, as Rico scored the winner for Bilbao just five minutes later to lift the club to 33 points, while Rayo remains in the bottom three with 13 points.
Espanyol 4, Valladolid 2
Barcelona, Spain - Christian Stuani scored on either side of the intermission on Sunday as Espanyol took three points with a 4-2 victory over Real Valladolid at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat.
The hosts got off the mark quickly on Sunday as Sergio Garcia fired home a penalty kick just five minutes in and Stuani netted his first goal of the day in the 37th minute to give Espanyol the two-goal margin at the break.
Victor Sanchez gave Espanyol a 3-0 lead with a goal in the 68th minute and Stuani finished his double two minutes later.
Valladolid continued to play and pulled two back through Javi Guerra and Victor Perez, but it wasn't enough as the hosts claimed the points.
Celta Vigo 1, Osasuna 1
Vigo, Spain - Celta Vigo and Osasuna swapped first-half goals on Sunday as the clubs battled to a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos.
The traveling side opened the scoring 17 minutes into the contest after Emiliano Armenteros fired his side in front. But Vigo snagged an equalizer 17 minutes later after the ball deflected in off Lolo for the own goal.
Neither side created many quality scoring chances in the second half as the sides were forced to share the spoils.
Celta Vigo heads into the new year in 15th place with 16 points, while Osasuna sits in 18th place with 15 points.
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