Diego Forlan scored twice as Atletico Madrid won 4-1 against Valencia, who ended the game with nine men on Sunday in the Spanish league.
The result means Valencia stay third on 46 points and Atletico move up to 11th on 30.
David Silva put Valencia ahead in the 20th minute, dribbling round goalkeeper David de Gea and carefully placing his shot.
Forlan equalized with a penalty in the 30th after Carlos Marchena was ruled to have handled the ball in the area. Referee Perez Burrull did not punish the infraction until Atletico’s players persuaded him to consult with the fourth official.
Sergio Aguero gave Atletico the lead with a header from a Simao Sabrosa corner in the 78th.
Forlan scored again in the 85th and Jose Manuel Jurado added the fourth in injury time.
On Saturday, Barcelona beat Malaga 2-1 to stay top of the league.
Real Madrid had led the standings temporarily by winning 5-1 at Tenerife earlier.
Earlier on Sunday, Joseba Llorente scored the winner as Villarreal beat Deportivo La Coruna 1-0.
The forward struck in the 35th minute to lift Villarreal into eighth in the standings on 32 points.
Also, Mallorca went fifth on 40 points after winning 2-1 at Valladolid with a late goal from Julio Alvarez. Victory closed the gap on Sevilla, who are fourth on 43 points after earning a 0-0 draw with only 10 men for most of the second half of their game against Athletic Bilbao.
Diego Castro scored an 80th minute penalty to give Sporting Gijon a 3-2 win against Osasuna, Xerez drew 1-1 with Espanyol and Almeria won 2-0 at Racing Santander.
Atletico attacked from the start with Simao Sabrosa hitting the post in the third minute while Forlan and Jose Antonio Reyes also came close with early efforts.
With the score even and Valencia a man down following Marchena’s expulsion, Atletico looked likely to score again.
Just before half-time Aguero was through with only goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez to beat. However, the Argentina striker miskicked, sending the ball into the stands.
Sanchez made a spectacular save from a Sabrosa free-kick in the 55th before making another stop minutes later from Reyes.
However, Valencia still pushed for the winner and coach Unai Emery replaced Joaquin Sanchez with another attacking midfielder, Pablo Hernandez.
Luis Miguel Brito was unlucky to be expelled 10 minutes from the end for a tackle on Juan Valera.
As the clock ticked down Valencia tired and Atletico’s forwards took full advantage to put the game out of reach.
Villarreal played with their trademark fluidity but struggled to find the net.
Nilmar, who provided the pass for Llorente’s goal, came close to scoring himself with a superb strike that goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia just got a hand to shortly before half-time.
However, Villarreal had to resist some late pressure from La Coruna to secure the three points.
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