BARCELONA, Jan 15 (SW) - It wasn't Barcelona's best game of the season, but it was good enough to claim their 17th consecutive win, defeating Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Barcelona - Athletic Bilbao 2-1

A header by Fernando Llorente put the struggling Basque side in front in the 15th minute, much to the shock of the home crowd, but Ronaldinho leveled the match from the penalty spot in the 36th minute to restore parity.

After Bilbao goalkeeper Iñaki Lafuente parried an effort by Mark van Bommel, Lionel Messi was on hand to pouce on the rebound in the 51st minute to give Barça a lead.

Barça would hang on to win the match, but finished with ten men after Deco was sent off following a clash with Carlos Gurpegi.

Real Madrid - Sevilla 4-2

Zinedine Zidane was in form on Sunday, hitting his first Real Madrid hat-trick to guide his side past Seville at the Bernabéu.

It was Guti who struck seven minutes in to put the home side in front, but Luis Fabiano equalized for Seville in the 51st minute to bring the visitors back into contention.

Madrid then began to run away after Julio Baptista drew a penalty and Zidane smashed it home in the 57th minute for 2-1. The Frenchman then took a nifty ball from Guti and went into the roof of the net for a two-goal lead.

Aitor Ocio made it close again in the 85th minute for Sevilla, but Zidane struck in his third in the dying moments to ensure a two-goal win.

Deportivo La Coruña - Alavés 0-2

Deportivo were looking to stay in the top four in the league, but they were shocked by Alavés at the Riazor.

Australian international John Aloisi put the home side in front on 21 minutes, heading home a ball from Jandro and the Aussie turned set-up man 30 minutes later when his pass found Rodolfo Bodipo for Alavés second of the game and the insurance goal they wanted.

Racing Santander - Villarreal 1-0

They only recently shocked Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, but Racing were again up to a challenge and they nailed down a win over Villarreal thanks to a 21st-minute header by Sergio Matabuena.

New signing Pablo Alfaro was dismissed for Racing just shy of half-time for fouling Juan Pablo Sorín in the area, but his Argentina teammate Juan Román Riquelme had his penalty saved by Dudu Auoate.

In the 54th minute it got worse for Racing as Pablo Pinillos was red-carded and Villarreal got in on the expulsion fun when Héctor Font was shown the door in the 62nd minute.

Getafe - Celta de Vigo 1-1

Jaime Gavilán put the home side into the lead on 43 minutes when he volleyed home after taking a pass from Daniel Güiza, but the Galicians pulled level just after the second-half restart, defender Angel touching a free kick beyond the goalkeeper.

Málaga - Cádiz 0-2

Both Cádiz and Málaga are languishing in the wrong end of the table, but the visitors will certainly take three points toward survival in La Liga.

Alexander Medina headed in off a free kick by Jonathan Sesma in the 16th minute to give Cádiz the lead, and it was doubled in the 37th minute when Medina took a ball from Sesma and made no mistake.

Málaga, who extended their run of matches without a win to seven, finisehd with ten players after António López was sent off near the hour mark.

Zaragoza - Mallorca 3-1

Zaragoza continued their recent hot form with a win over relegation candidates Mallorca on Sunday.

Oscar González headed in for Zaragoza in the 26th minute to give his side the first lead and Diego Milito made sure to double the lead in the 28th minute.

Juan Arango's free kick with a quarter-hour to play gave Mallorca some hope of getting a point, but Milito's second goal of the game in the 80th minute put the match out of reach for the islanders.

Real Sociedad - Espanyol 0-1

Despite having the better of the chances and apparently being the better team on the pitch, Real Sociedad fell at home to Espanyol.

Sociedad got an added boost when Espanyol had Daniel Jarque sent off in the 42nd minute, but the only goal went the way of the Catalans in the dying moments of the game when Raúl Tamudo's great solo effort led to the winning goal from 20 yards out.