Higuain (pictured) opened the scoring on 25 minutes with Ronaldo sealing a deserved win with 12 remaining, although while the home side dominated, Valencia were close to levelling on the break with the score still at 1-0.

Valencia stayed third after the defeat, five points ahead of Sevilla in fourth, although Mallorca can move four points behind Los Che if they beat Osasuna on Monday.

Real have 83 points with five left to play, one behind Barca, and proved that the 24-point gulf in class with third-placed Valencia was, perhaps, justified.

"Barca are still top but we are now just one slip-up away," Real director general Jorge Valdano said.

Real were determined to bounce back in style after their 2-0 defeat in the Clasico and, with the title race still on after Barcelona were held by Espanyol, they did not disappoint.

Los Merengues flew out of the starting blocks, Rafael van der Vaart firing just over after Marcelo’s run down the left flank, Guti sliding the finish wide after scintillating wing-play from Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain denied midway through the first half by a last-gasp challenge from Hedwiges Maduro.

Soon after the Argentina striker got his goal, latching on to Guti’s pass, turning David Albelda on the edge of the box and drilling his finish past Cesar into the bottom right.

That was on 25 minutes and there was no let up. Higuain almost raced clean through but was blocked by Bruno after rounding Cesar, with Van der Vaart denied by the veteran keeper on the rebound.

Former Real and Tottenham shot-stopper Cesar, 38, was a busy man and could only watch as Higuain sprung an offside trap that was beyond makeshift left-back Jordi Alba: the 27-goal striker tried a spectacular lob that landed on the roof of the net.

There was a brief rally from Los Che, with David Silva and Juan Mata forcing saves from Iker Casillas, but order was restored as Ronaldo forced Cesar into action and Van der Vaart poked wide while flying in to meet Higuain’s near-post cross.

That was the last act of the first half, with Madrid worth their lead and then some.

The second half was a game of cat and mouse. Aside from an early save by Cesar when Marcelo was played in on the left, both sides employed a degree of caution as Madrid focused on patient ball retention while Valencia sat back and looked for the counter.

Valencia fired the occasional warning shot on the break - Bruno was incorrectly called offside when he ran clean through on the right - but the hosts controlled the tempo as they tried to break their opponents down.

Ronaldo should have doubled the lead but could not reach Alvaro Arbeloa’s inviting ball across an empty net, but Valencia again warned Real of their threat when Silva smashed an outrageous long-range effort off the angle of post and bar.

Madrid were jolted into action, with Ronaldo and Van der Vaart testing the visiting defence and keeper from wide positions.

They finally got their second goal thanks to left-back Marcelo’s surging run past Bruno and inch-perfect low pass to the penalty spot, where Ronaldo arrived to meet the ball with a crisp side-foot into the bottom left.

Valencia gave up the ghost and Madrid passed the final minutes toying with Unai Emery’s side, substitute Karim Benzema seeing a low shot deflected wide but denied a corner by the hapless officials, who incorrectly flagged players from both sides offside on at least four occasions.

Athletic Bilbao were held to a scrappy 0-0 draw at home to struggling Real Zaragoza which left them seventh.

The Basque club are kept out of the Europa League slots by Villarreal, who are level on 49 points from 33 games but sixth due to their superior head-to-head record. Villarreal beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Saturday.

There was no change at the foot of the standings in the battle to avoid relegation earlier in the day.

Only 18th-placed Tenerife managed a victory with a hat-trick from striker Nino earning the islanders a 3-2 victory against visiting Getafe.

"Nino's not good, he's spectacular," Tenerife coach Jose Luis Oltra said of his forward who has netted 13 this season.

"He's one of the best Spanish goalscorers around, especially as he does it with a team low down in the table."

Tenerife closed to within a point of 17th place and safety after Malaga were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Real Valladolid.

Malaga have 33 points, Tenerife 32, Valladolid 29 and Xerez 27, the basement club coming back to draw 2-2 at home to Racing Santander with a late header from Victor Sanchez.

Reda Maher / Eurosport / Reuters