Raul and Michael Owen after the former scored Real Madrid?s third goal vs Barcelona on Sunday. (AFP)

Madrid: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Raul Gonzalez scored first-half goals to help Real Madrid to a 4-2 victory over Spanish league leaders FC Barcelona in the 150th league meeting between the country?s biggest teams (briefly reported in the Late City edition of these columns Monday).

Michael Owen added Madrid?s fourth goal Sunday after halftime at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, reducing Barcelona?s lead to six points with seven rounds to play. Barcelona had their strikers to blame, as well as Real custodian Iker Casillas who pulled off four great saves.

And striker James Vaughan, at the age of 16 years 270 days, became the Premier League?s youngest scorer with Everton?s fourth goal in the 4-0 rout of Crystal Palace Sunday.

?People said the league was all over. I always said it wasn?t,? said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard. ?We came here with an advantage but now we have to lift our heads.?

League-leading scorer Samuel Eto?o scored his 21st goal of the season for Barcelona, but the Cameroon striker was carried off with a right knee injury in the second half. The club said he may be sidelined for more than a month. Ronaldinho netted Barcelona?s second goal.

?We have to win our games,? Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo said. ?If Barcelona had won today it would have won the league.?

Also, Sevilla downed Espanyol 3-1 and moved into third place, Real Betis drew 2-2 with Levante, while Valencia drew 2-2 with Malaga.

In other games, it was: Osasuna 1, Racing Santander 0; Mallorca 0, Zaragoza 2; Getafe 1, Albacete 0; and Deportivo la Coruna 1, Villarreal 1.

Barcelona still lead the league with 69 points, followed by Madrid with 63. Sevilla are next with 52 points, one more than Villarreal, which has one game in hand. Betis have 50 points, while Espanyol drop to sixth with 49, one more than Valencia.

Madrid, who started Owen instead of Luis Figo and played without suspended defender Walter Samuel, started strong and took the lead in the 11th minute when Zidane dived to head home a chip from Ronaldo.

?Barcelona didn?t interpret the Figo change in midfield correctly,? Luxemburgo said. ?Raul knew the ball had to move up the flank. I needed Raul in a tactical position so that Barcelona?s back would be exposed.?

Barcelona, who played without suspended Deco, responded by pushing forward but were set back by a second goal in the 20th minute when Ronaldo headed home David Beckham?s floated free-kick.

Ronaldo?s goal was just his second in his last 15 games for Madrid and Brazil.

In the 29th, Eto?o sped through the Madrid defence and poked the ball past Casillas to reduce the deficit.

Despite a period of shaky play, Madrid stunned Barcelona with a third goal on the stroke of halftime when Raul turned home a low cross from the right by left back Roberto Carlos, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday. It was Raul?s first league goal in two months.

Owen stretched Madrid?s lead in the 65th minute after running on to meet Beckham?s pass and drilling the ball past goalkeeper Victor Valdes for his 11th goal of the season.

Ronaldinho curled home a free-kick on the edge of the area for Barcelona?s second goal in the 73rd, but the team suffered a heavy blow three minutes later when Eto?o pulled up with an injury.

Earlier, Sevilla forward Julio Baptista scored his 14th goal of the season to boost his team?s hopes of a debut in next season?s Champions League.

Baptista rounded goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to net his team?s second goal at Espanyol?s Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in the 17th minute, adding to an opening strike by midfielder Jordi Lopez eight minutes earlier.

Espanyol substitute Jonathan Soriano pulled a goal back, with Sevilla?s Daniel Alves scoring in injury time.

Betis managed a 2-2 home draw with modest Levante.

Brazilian Edu Schmidt netted in the 11th minute, with the visitors levelling in the 25th through Alberto Rivera. Ricardo Oliveira restored the lead in the 32nd with his 17th goal of the season, only for forward Juanma Gomez to fire the equaliser. (Agencies)