* Higuain, Van der Vaart score twice in Real's 6-0 win
* Soldado double gives Getafe 2-1 victory at Sevilla
* Bilbao beat visitors Osasuna 2-0 to go sixth
(Recasts after Real Madrid v Real Zaragoza)
By Mark Elkington
MADRID, Dec 19 - Gonzalo Higuain and Rafael van
der Vaart scored two apiece as Real Madrid tore apart struggling
Real Zaragoza to win 6-0 in La Liga on Saturday.
Manuel Pellegrini's second-placed side climbed to 37 points
from 15 games, two short of leaders Barcelona who were in Abu
Dhabi winning the Club World Cup.
Sevilla lost ground in third place after a double by Getafe's
Roberto Soldado condemned them to a 2-1 home defeat.
Zaragoza arrived at a freezing Bernabeu with caretaker Jose
Aurelio Gay standing in after coach Marcelino was sacked last
weekend but the league's leakiest defence put up little
resistance as they conceded four goals in the first half.
Argentine striker Higuain burst clear to score after three
minutes and Dutchman Van der Vaart, playing in place of the
injured Kaka, made it 3-0 with a quick fire double.
In the 34th minute, Higuain also claimed a second goal,
turning under pressure to lob a spectacular shot into the top
corner for his 10th of the campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo had tried his luck with a number of free
kicks and finally got on the scoresheet in the 50th, twisting
and turning in the area before slotting in the fifth goal.
Real were utterly dominant and Karim Benzema came off the
bench to slot away their sixth goal in the 71st. Zaragoza remain
in the relegation places with 12 points.
SOLDADO DOUBLE
An opportunist early double from Getafe striker Soldado was
enough to hold off a Sevilla side who dominated the game.
Soldado finished off a sweeping counter-attack to put Getafe
ahead after 12 minutes and netted his 10th of the campaign in
the 33rd after a misunderstanding in the home defence.
Sevilla turned to substitute Alvaro Negredo and he pulled
one back in the 51st, bundling the ball into the net at the far
post to end his six-week goal drought.
But profligate finishing and the saves of visiting
goalkeeper Jordi Codina made it three games in a row without a
win for Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Earlier, Fernando Llorente powered Athletic Bilbao to a 2-0
home victory over Osasuna, lifting his side to sixth in the
standings with 26 points.
The Spain striker set up Fran Yeste to tap in the opener
inside the first minute at San Mames, and then turned to score
with a superb effort from the edge of the area in the 12th.
(Writing by Mark Elkington; Editing by Ken Ferris. To query
or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)