Saturday 14 January 2017 23:18, UK
An early goal from Argentina international Nicolas Gaitan after just eight minutes proved enough to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Real Betis at Vicente Calderon.
Diego Simeone's side moved two points behind Sevilla as a result.
At the other end of the table, Leganes battled to a goalless draw at home against Athletic Bilbao to edge further away from the relegation scrap.
Saturday's late match saw Deportivo La Coruna held to a goalless draw by Villarreal at Estadio Riazor.
Elsewhere, Barcelona thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 at the Nou Camp to move up to second in La Liga.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring after 14 minutes as the champions produced a dominant performance.
Lionel Messi added another early in the second half, before Suarez notched his second on 57 minutes.
Arda Turan slotted in a fourth just two minutes later with Aleix Vidal also on target with 10 minutes left.
Barcelona moved above Sevilla and to within two points of Real Madrid. However, they have now played two games more than their bitter rivals, who are away at Sevilla on Sunday.
