Atletico Madrid heaped pressure on Barcelona by topping
La Liga after beating 10-man Levante 3-2 in an enthralling encounter on
Saturday.
Title-chasing Atletico fell behind inside two minutes
against Joaquin Caparros' men, Andreas Ivanschitz giving the visitors the lead
with a close-range finish.
Atletico looked to have turned things around as a Diego
Godin header and a smart finish from Diego Costa put them in front, only for
Levante midfielder Pedro Rios to equalise on 56 minutes with a fine solo goal.
Costa proved to be the difference, though, the striker
scoring his 23rd goal of the season from the penalty spot following Ruben
Garcia's foul on Juanfran, whose Levante namesake was sent-off in injury time.
Victory puts Atletico three points clear at the top of La
Liga, although defending champions Barca will reassume the position at the
summit if they beat Getafe by more than one goal on Sunday.
Villarreal's UEFA Champions League hopes were dented by a
2-1 home defeat to 10-man Sevilla.
Defender Juan Cala put Sevilla in front with a
24th-minute header and striker Carlos Bacca added a second as he capitalised on
Mateo Musacchio's failed clearance midway through the second half.
Goalscorer Cala was dismissed four minutes from time for
his challenge on Jaume Costa before Jeremy Perbet gave Villarreal hope with a
late penalty.
Real Sociedad leapfrogged Villarreal into fifth with a
3-1 success at Granada, a Carlos Vela double and Antoine Griezmann's 14th
strike of the season making sure of the points for the Basque outfit.
Elsewhere, Almeria ended a three-game winless streak in
the league as Ramon Azeez's fourth-minute goal gave them a 1-0 victory at Real
Betis.
Culled from Soccerway
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