MADRID, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lamine Yamal scored a hat-trick as FC Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Villarreal on Saturday to open up a four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Villarreal traveled to the Camp Nou third in the standings, but although Pape Gueye gave it brief hope with a goal early in the second half, Barcelona and Yamal were too good, with the 18-year-old completing his hat-trick in the 69th minute before Robert Lewandowski rounded off the scoring in the last minute with a simple finish.
Atletico Madrid made a host of changes to its usual starting 11 for the visit to bottom side Real Oviedo, with coach Diego Simeone clearly looking to Tuesday's Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona.
The game looked to be destined for a 0-0 draw until Atletico's Julian Alvarez produced one of the few moments of quality to score the only goal in the 94th minute.
Carlos Soler scored the only goal of the game with a bouncing volley as Real Sociedad won 1-0 away to Mallorca to deepen the relegation worries of the home side.
Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao took a point each in the Vallecas Stadium, with Jorge de Frutos putting Rayo ahead before the break and Inaki Williams equalizing with a volley just after halftime.
Athletic Bilbao lost midfielder Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta with what looked like a dislocated shoulder after falling badly in the second half.
Young forward Carlos Espi scored two late goals as Levante won 2-0 at home to Alaves on Friday to keep its survival chances alive. Espi decided the game with goals in the 88th and 97th minutes, after Alaves defender Victor Parada was sent off in the 61st minute.
Real Madrid plays Getafe on Monday. ■
