Barcelona continued their fantastic recent form with yet another win over Elche, while Madrid opened up an eight-point lead at the top.
The Blaugrana look to be building something special as they made it four wins in a row on Sunday, but they were made to sweat at Elche.
They trailed to a 44th minute goal from Fidel but a 60th minute effort from Ferran Torres and 84th minute penalty from substitute Memphis Depay gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory.
Barca have won four in a row and six in their last eight matches in all competitions.
They have closed the gap to seven points on Sevilla in second place and they still have a game in hand.
Real Madrid enjoyed a boost before their Champions League match with Paris Saint-Germain in midweek as they moved eight points clear of the competition in La Liga on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side now look a safe bet to win Spain’s top flight as they overcame Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Bernabeu, despite falling behind in the match,
Mikel Oyarzabal’s 10th-minute penalty gave La Real an early edge that it seemed they would hold until half-time. However, Eduardo Camavinga’s slightly deflected shot levelled proceedings before Luka Modric battered a second three minutes later.
It would be the first of two bursts during the game in which Madrid would score two goals in the space of three minutes. The second arrived quarter of an hour from the end courtesy of a Karim Benzema penalty and a Marco Asensio strike.
Madrid, therefore, punished Sevilla’s Friday slip-up against Alaves, against whom they were held to a scoreless draw. Given their opponents lie in the relegation zone, it was a fixture that Andalucians were hotly favoured to win.
Elsewhere in the race for fourth spot, Villarreal were surprisingly defeated 1-0 away against Osasuna, while Real Betis welcomed Atletico Madrid to the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Valencia, meanwhile, secured their place in the top half of the table with a 3-0 win over Granada.
In the other games on Sunday, Cadiz beat Rayo Vallecano 2-0, while Celta Vigo beat Mallorca in a thrilling 4-3 victory.
Athletic Club continued their hunt for European football with a 3-1 win over Cadiz at home.They are eighth, four points back of Real Sociedad in sixth.
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