Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid climb to second in the table with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo, while Lionel Messi smashed another record in Barcelona's regulation 2-0 win against Deportivo in their La Liga game.
Atletico Madrid, who have held the second spot for quite a while, crashed to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad to suffer their first home defeat of the season, and in the process allowing Real to go a point clear of their Madrid rivals and move to within 13 points of league leaders Barca with 11 games remaining.
Ronaldo struck the crossbar in the first half which ended 0-0, before popping up to fire home the opener from close range just past the hour. Celta, however, made it 1-1 in the 63rd minute when Iago Aspas saw his strike take a deflection off Pepe and nestle into the back of the net.
Real, though, earned themselves all three points when Kaka won a penalty 20 minutes from time, which was dispatched by Ronaldo for his 26th goal of the season.
"In the first 20 minutes or half an hour, the whole team struggled to get into the match," Real assistant manager Aitor Karanka said. "They played with a high defensive line and caught us offside a few times and we could find a way passed.
"In the last fifteen minutes, and for part of the second half, the team controlled the match and we had more chances. The problem is that, perhaps, when we could have killed off the match, the goals didn't come. And they have had the opportunity to equalise."
Ronaldo might already have 26 goals to his name in the league, but it is still 14 goals behind Messi, who scored in his 17th consecutive league game, a world record, according to the Spanish club.
Alexis Sanchez made it 1-0 to Barca, who rested several first team players, including Messi, with the crucial Milan Champions League game looming large, against struggling Deportivo with a powerful header in the 38th minute.
Messi came on for David Villa with a little over 30 minutes left and made an impact, scoring his 40th La Liga goal of the season with a delightful chip.
Atletico will be kicking themselves after failing to pierce an organized Real Sociedad side, with Xabi Prieto scoring the only goal early in the second half to give Sociedad all three points.
Results: Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Valencia; Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid; Levante 0-0 Getafe; Atletico Madrid 0-1 Real Sociedad; Real Mallorca 2-1 Sevilla; Real Valladolid 1-1 Malaga; Barcelona 2-0 Deportivo; Rayo Vallecano 2-0 Espanyol; Real Betis 2-1 Osasuna.
