Cristiano Ronaldo overtook Lionel Messi as the Spanish season's leading scorer over all competitions after his brace led Real Madrid to a 2-1 win at Eibar on Saturday.

Ronaldo's 32nd and 33rd goals moved him one ahead of his Barcelona rival.

And Ronaldo knows he'll stay top for now. Messi will miss Barcelona's match at Malaga later Saturday after earlier announcing the birth of Ciro, his third son.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his second goal beside Lucas Vazquez and Daniel Carvajal after scoring during the Spanish La Liga football match between Real Madrid and SD Eibar at Ipurua stadium, in Eibar, northern Spain, Saturday, March10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

 

After struggling early in the season to find the net in La Liga, Ronaldo has 14 goals in his last nine games in the league.

His 18 goals in the league put him third behind Luis Suarez with 20 and Messi with 24.

"(Ronaldo) is from another galaxy," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "He knows he is going to score. The numbers speak for themselves."

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo heads the ball during the Spanish La Liga football match between Real Madrid and SD Eibar at Ipurua stadium, in Eibar, northern Spain, Saturday, March10, 2018. Real Madrid won the match 2-1. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

 

Barcelona leads the league by eight points over Atletico Madrid, which hosts Celta Vigo on Sunday. Real Madrid is another four points back in third.

 

Barcelona beats Malaga while Messi attends birth of son

Barcelona had no trouble handing 10-man Malaga another loss despite not counting on Lionel Messi, who missed the match to attend the birth of his third son on Saturday.

Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho scored in the 2-0 win for Barcelona before the hosts lost Samuel Garica to a direct red card for a rash studs-first tackle into the foot of Jordi Alba on the half-hour mark.

Barcelona said before the match that Messi would not travel with the team due to "personal reasons." The Argentina forward later announced his wife gave birth to a boy named Ciro.

Malaga's Ignasi Miquel fights for the ball against Barcelona's Luis Suarez, right, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Malaga and Barcelona in Malaga, Spain, Saturday, March 10, 2018. (AP Photo/M.Pozo)

 

His next match will be on Wednesday for the Champions League visit by Chelsea. Barcelona will look to make good on the 1-1 draw it earned in the away leg of their round-of-16 tie.

Barcelona remained unbeaten in the Spanish league through all 28 rounds and increased its lead to 11 points over Atletico Madrid, which hosts Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Suarez opened the scoring in the 15th minute moments after Malaga goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez did well to get low and frustrate Barcelona's first of many scoring chances.

 

Barcelona's Luis Suarez, jumps for the ball next to Malaga's Ricca, left, and Miquel, right, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Malaga and Barcelona in Malaga, Spain, Saturday, March 10, 2018. (AP Photo/M.Pozo)

 

But Jimenez could only watch when Alba's long cross met Suarez's run near the penalty spot, where the striker floated a header into the corner of the net.

That gave Suarez 21 goals, second in La Liga to Messi with 24.

Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, the two players Barcelona paid more than 300 million euros to sign this season, linked up to double the lead in the 28th.

Dembele used a quick cut back in the area to open a passing lane and slipped a ball to Coutinho, who completed the move with a skillful flick of the inside of his right boot to beat Jimenez.

Dembele, whose adaptation to Barcelona had been hampered by injuries, had his best performance since leaving Borussia Dortmund for the Catalan club. He showed the verve and decisiveness that he lacked in prior matches with his runs and passing choices.

Malaga stayed in last place after a seventh consecutive loss.

 

RONALDO TO THE RESCUE

Madrid was six minutes away from dropping points when Ronaldo came through with a powerful header to send in Dani Carvajal's cross and grab victory at Eibar.

Ronaldo opened the scoring against the flow of play in the 34th minute when Luka Modric intercepted a pass and set him up. Ronaldo used his chest to control Modric's pass before scoring.

Eibar defender Ivan Ramis equalized in the 50th before being substituted for injury.

Madrid defender Raphael Varane was substituted early in the match after a blow to the head. He walked off the pitch and was replaced by Nacho Fernandez.

 

VALENCIA ON COURSE

Valencia is on course to lock up a top-four finish and Champions League berth after beating Sevilla 2-0, its nearest rival for fourth place.

Rodrigo Moreno scored twice to give Valencia an important away victory that opened up an 11-point advantage over fifth-place Sevilla.

Rodrigo Moreno netted his 11th and 12th league goals.

The forward first capitalized on a mistake by Sergio Escudero, whose flubbed attempt to intercept a long pass left Moreno all alone to beat goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

Luis Muriel hit the crossbar for Sevilla and Valencia goalkeeper Neto made a reflex save to parry Pablo Sarabia's shot before halftime.

Moreno beat Rico again after Geoffrey Kondogbia dribbled past three Sevilla players before playing him clear.

"These are more than just three points," Moreno said. "It isn't decided yet, but we have made an important step toward achieving our goal."

Sevilla visits Manchester United on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16. The first leg finished 0-0.

 

NEW COACH WINS

Levante won at Getafe 1-0 in the debut of manager Paco Lopez to break a run of 15 straight rounds without a victory.

Coke Andujar headed in a corner kick in the 79th to snatch the much-needed result that lifted Levante four points away from the relegation zone.