Barcelona maintained their unbeaten record on Saturday, while Sevilla broke out of their slump.
Barcelona stretched their lead at the summit to eight points with a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Real Valladolid.
It took just 21 minutes for the Catalan giants to make the breakthrough, with Xavi putting the finishing touches to a rapid counter-attack.
Less than 60 seconds later they made it two, with Dani Alves crashing home from distance.
Lionel Messi then wrapped things up in the second half when he fired high into the net shortly before the hour mark.
Sevilla broke out of their slump with a narrow victory on Saturday to keep their top-four hopes alive.
Four straight defeats had hindered their progress of late, but they got back to winning ways against out-of-sorts Almeria.
Alvaro Negredo netted the only goal of the game in a scrappy Andalusian derby after 10 minutes.
Santiago Acasiete picked up a pass from his goalkeeper Diego Alves on the edge of the box, but when he tried to play the ball back it stopped dead in a pool of water midway between the two and Sevilla midfielder Dirnei Renato nipped in to poke the ball inside where Negredo tapped into an empty net.
It was a heartbreaking way for Almeria coach Juan Manuel Lillo to suffer his first defeat since taking the reins before Christmas, but it was a much-needed victory for the hosts.
Deportivo La Coruna got their UEFA Champions League assault back on track with a 3-1 win over fellow high fliers Athletic Bilbao.
Depor entered the contest with just one win from their last six outings, a run which had seen them slip out of the title race.
They will now be hoping to leave their mid-season wobble behind them and push on into the New Year.
Luis Filipe edged them in front at the Riazor after 49 minutes, before Juca doubled their advantage 10 minutes later.
A Daniel Colotto own goal handed Bilbao hope 10 minutes from time, but Nunez Pablo Alvarez ensured there would be no way back for the visitors when he bagged a third for Depor in the 89th minute.
Chivas USA’s Trujillo trains with AtlantePrimera Liga round-up
