Atletico Madrid kept their lead in La Liga with a 2-1 win away to Granada on Saturday, easing fears that Diego Simeone’s men were suffering from an attack of nerves.
Atletico’s 2-2 draw with Celta at home last Monday, which saw several players out with Covid-19, had provoked fears the team could drop more points at the Los Carmenes Stadium.
However, the return of Yannick Carrasco and Mario Hermoso after recovering from the coronavirus boosted Atletico’s confidence and after a tight first half, Marcos Llorente put the visitors ahead with a powerful left-foot shot.
Yangel Herrera’s deflected shot drew Granada level, but Angel Correa also had luck on his side, as his effort hit a defender and looped into the net with 15 minutes left to play.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid are five points behind, with two games ahead, after an easy 2-0 win at home to a very tepid Valencia on Sunday.
First-half goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos secured Real’s victory, although the side suffered a setback when full-back Dani Carvajal had to leave the pitch with yet another injury.
FC Barcelona reacted well to their midweek Cup defeat to Sevilla and got a morale boost ahead of their Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain next week as they thrashed Alaves 5-1 on Saturday.
Sevilla had goalkeeper Bono to thank for a string of saves that kept Huesca at bay before Munir el Haddadi’s 57th-minute goal gave them a 1-0 win that strengthens their position in fourth.
Bono has not conceded a goal in 709 minutes of football and has been vital in his side’s recent run.
Elsewhere, Alexander Isak’s sixth goal in six games gave Real Sociedad a 1-0 win away to Getafe, who looked as if they couldn’t buy a win at the moment, and to make matters worse for the home side, coach Jose Bordalas was sent off again for the second time in a week after a touchline incident.
That win lifted Real Sociedad above Villarreal, whose run of games without a win extended to six after a 2-1 defeat at home to Betis. Nabil Fekir opened the scoring just before halftime and Merson doubled the lead early in the second half.
Gerard Moreno reduced the difference from the penalty spot after Emerson was harshly penalized for a handball.
Osasuna climb to midtable after a 1-0 win away to a much-changed Levante thanks to a 74th-minute goal from Ante Budimir and a 77th-minute penalty save from Sergio Herrera, who denied Jose Luis Morales.
Eibar and Valladolid drew 1-1 to leave Eibar fourth from the bottom and Valladolid in the relegation zone.
Valladolid took an early lead through Roque Mesa’s penalty before Kike Garcia equalized for Eibar following a cross from the impressive Bryan Gil.
Celta Vigo beat Elche 3-1 on Friday night – a result which led to Elche coach Jorge Almiron to resign with Fran Escriba named as his replacement on Sunday.
