Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on champions Barcelona when they fought back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao that put them level on 35 points with the La Liga pacesetters.
Bilbao took a 27th-minute lead at a typically mean Calderon stadium when defender Aymeric Laporte scored at a corner before Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez levelled with a header from a corner at the other end on the stroke of halftime.
A closely-fought encounter appeared destined for a draw until the ball broke kindly for Antoine Griezmann in the 67th minute and the France forward curled a superb shot into the corner of the net from just outside the penalty area.
Barca, who lead Atletico on goal difference, let slip a 2-0 advantage and were held 2-2 at home by Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, their second consecutive draw after last weekend’s 1-1 stalemate at Valencia.
Real Madrid, five points adrift of the top two in third, can move up to 33 points from 15 matches with a win at fifth-placed Villarreal later on Sunday.
Former England defender Gary Neville is still without a win in two games since taking over as Valencia coach after his new club had a man sent off and needed an Eibar own goal to rescue a 1-1 draw at the modest Basque side.
“What annoyed me most was that we gave the ball away a lot in the first half,” he told a news conference. “In the second half we showed more pride and could even have won the game.”
Valencia, Eibar and Bilbao each have 21 points in eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
Neville was a surprise appointment to replace Nuno Espirito Santo and his first game in charge was Wednesday’s 2-0 reverse at home to Olympique Lyonnais that ended Valencia’s hopes of advancing to the Champions League knockout round.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate