Real hold on

Real Madrid had to withstand a spirited late fightback from city rivals Atletico to win a dramatic derby at the Vicente Calderon.

Kaka fired a superb opener in his first derby since moving from AC Milan in the summer, and fellow Brazilian Marcelo struck from a narrow angle to give Real a 2-0 half-time lead.

The game appeared safe when the in-form Gonzalo Higuain turned Luis Perea and finished coolly to make it 3-0, but there was almost a sting in the tail. Diego Forlan rounded off a superb passing move to score and, two minutes later, Sergio Aguero brilliantly cut Real's lead to a single goal.

Pedro bagged a brace and Thierry Henry scored his first goal of the season as Barca cruised to a routine 4-2 win at home to Mallorca.

They were ahead within 12 minutes as Pedro latched onto Zlatan Ibrahimovic's sublime back-heeled pass and slotted the ball underneath Dudu Aouate.

Mallorca levelled when Gerard Pique could only flick Marti's corner into the path of the unmarked Nunes, who headed home from close range, but Barca struck a double blow before half-time.

Aouate saved three times in quick succession from Pedro, Henry and Sergi Busquets but could do nothing to prevent the former from crashing home at the fourth time of asking, and Henry's opportunist header then diverted Busquets' effort past Aouate following Pedro's free-kick. Lionel Messi made it 4-1 from the penalty spot before Alhassane Keita's late goal.

Meanwhile, Nine-man Deportivo La Coruna got their European challenge back on track with a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 win over woeful Getafe, while Malaga fought back from two goals down to earn a vital point away to Tenerife and ease the pressure on under-fire coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz.