Barca Real Madrid 39-0
Outi Foote
Madrid dealt Sporting Gijon a 3-0 home loss to remain three points ahead of second-place Barcelona, which has played an extra game after Cesc Fabregas scored a first-half brace to spark the defending champion's 5-0 rout of Levante.
The fierce rivals head into the contest at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium next Saturday in excellent form, with Madrid extending its winning streak to 14 games in all competitions and Barcelona improving its home scoring margin in league play to 39-0.
"I know people can't wait until next Saturday," said Fabregas, trying to downplay the occasion. "[But] the league doesn't just come down to key games like the one at the Bernabeu. It is very long and you have to take it one game at a time."
Di Maria said his team was trying to remain focused ahead of the clasico that will likely mark the course of the competition with Madrid seeking to dethrone Barcelona for the first time in four seasons.
The visitors missed Alonso's incisive passes early as they dominated possession but failed to seriously threaten Sporting's area until Di Maria drew a save from Juan Colinas with a long blast in the 19th.
With its attack stalled outside the area, Madrid went ahead through a great individual effort by Di Maria when he recovered the ball, danced down the left flank and caught Colinas anticipating the cross with a deft stab to send the ball into the right side of the net.
"We scored when we had done very little to deserve it," Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said. "We hadn't done much before the 1-0, but during halftime we talked about it and in the second half we saw the difference."
Barcelona continued to roll and B-team standout Isaac Cuenca put the game away in the 37th, firing low into the right corner after Iniesta again smartly redirected a pass from Messi to set up the unmarked winger.
Messi drove in a left-footed shot off a pass from Dani Alves 10 minutes after halftime to draw even with Ronaldo as the league's top scorers with 17 goals each, and Alexis Sanchez capped a break started deep in Barcelona's territory in the 61st for the Chile forward's third goal in two games.
"It is good to win by a big scoreline because it gives us confidence heading into such a big game [at Madrid]," Barcelona's Javier Mascherano said. "The sensations are positive. It will be a spectacular game and everyone is excited to play it."
Christian Stuani's first-half goal gave Racing Santander a 1-0 win over Villarreal in its first game under interim coach Juanjo Gonzalez since Hector Cuper parted ways with the northern Spanish club.
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