Real Madrid opened up a 12-point lead at the top of the La Liga table on Saturday thanks to a 2-0 win over Getafe.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side moved to 72 points for the campaign as they continue to bounce back from their disappointment in El Clasico with successive wins.
For once, Karim Benzema was not on target for Los Blancos, with goals in either half from Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez guiding them to a straightforward success.
On Friday night, Sevilla had closed the gap to nine points as they overcame Granada in an entertaining 4-2 victory at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan. They seemed destined to drop points as Victor Diaz made it 2-2 in the 88th minute, yet stoppage-time strikes from Rafa Mir and Alejandro Gomez gave the hosts a win that keeps them in command of a Champions League spot.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, find themselves in a tougher spot. A shock 1-0 loss away to a Real Mallorca side that started the weekend in the bottom three has turned up the pressure on them before they tackle Manchester City in the Champions League in midweek.
Their slip was compounded by the fact that earlier in the day Real Betis had recorded a 2-1 win over Cadiz, who saw Mallorca leapfrog them due to Atleti’s slip. Betis scored twice late in the game to claim victory. They trailed 1-0 until Cristian Tello scored in the 79th minute, then with five minutes left Borja Iglesias stroked the winner from the penalty spot.
In the day’s other game, Villarreal and Athletic Club cancelled each other out with a 1-1 draw that does neither any good as they chase European football next season.
The highlight fixture of Sunday’s card will see Barcelona travel to face Levante away from home, with the bottom club in desperate need of points to stand even a chance of survival.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, travel to face Elche as they attempt to step up their Champions League push following Atletico’s Saturday slip.
LA LIGA STATISTICS: