MADRID CLOSE ON BARCELONA AFTER WIN

James Rodriguez's stunning volley set Real Madrid on their way to victory over Almeria as Carlo Ancelotti's side closed on La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Rodriguez opened the scoring with a first-time strike to lift the home side out of a disappointing first half.

Almeria's Mauro Dos Santos turned in under pressure from Cristiano Ronaldo for an own goal, with Alvaro Arbeloa adding the gloss as Real cruised home.

Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard, 16, was an unused substitute for Real.

The teenager could have become the club's youngest player but will have to wait for his first appearance since joining from Stromsgodset in January.

Barcelona's lead over Real at the top of the table is now two points with four games to play.

For much of the first half Real looked unlikely to respond to their rivals' 6-0 win over Getafe on Tuesday.

But just before half-time Rodriguez produced a moment of brilliance to fire home a stunning volley worthy of comparison with his goal of the tournament for Colombia at the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Dos Santos was then unfortunate to turn into his own net from close-range attempting to clear a Toni Kroos low cross, with Ronaldo appearing to be in an offside position.

With his side looking comfortable, expectation grew around Ancelotti's possible introduction of Odegaard.

Capped four times by Norway, the 16-year-old was one of three youngsters named on the bench with regulars Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema all absent through injury.

It would have been a gentle introduction for the midfielder, as Real never looked like relinquishing their lead.

Arbeloa stole in front of Ronaldo to stab home a deserved third from a Javier Hernandez cross, leaving the Portugal forward kicking the net in frustration.

BELOW IS LA LIGA TABLE

Position	Team	Played	GoalDifference	Points
No movement1	Barcelona	34	78	84
No movement2	Real Madrid	34	72	82
No movement3	Atl Madrid	34	39	75
No movement4	Sevilla	34	25	69
No movement5	Valencia	33	35	68
No movement6	Villarreal	34	13	53
No movement7	Málaga	34	-4	47
No movement8	Ath Bilbao	34	-4	47
No movement9	Celta de Vigo	34	2	45
No movement10	Espanyol	33	-3	42
No movement11	Rayo Vallecano	33	-23	41
No movement12	Real Sociedad	34	-7	40
No movement13	Elche	34	-26	37
No movement14	Getafe	34	-24	36
No movement15	Levante	34	-28	35
No movement16	Eibar	34	-20	31
No movement17	Almería	34	-26	31
No movement18	Deportivo de La Coruña	34	-27	29
No movement19	Granada CF	33	-40	25
No movement20	Córdoba	34	-32	20