Atletico had the chance to stretch their lead to 11 points this week by winning back-to-back games against Levante but instead they followed a 1-1 draw on Wednesday with a surprise 2-0 loss, meaning a five-point advantage became only six.

Real Madrid cranked up the pressure again by edging to a win over struggling Real Valladolid, Casemiro's second-half header cutting the gap to just three points, albeit with Atletico still owning a game in hand.

The swing in momentum comes at a bad time for Atletico, who face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday, and it feels significant given it has coincided with a resurgence, in La Liga at least, for their chasing rivals.

Real Madrid's victory at the Jose Zorilla Stadium was their fourth in a row, three of those coming with clean sheets, which suggests a return to form for a defence that all but clinched them the title last season.

Zinedine Zidane's side have done it without several key players too. Karim Benzema is the latest absentee through injury, joining the likes of Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal on the sidelines.

It meant a rare start for Mariano Diaz up front against Valladolid, while Isco was the only senior player named by Zidane on the bench.

Barcelona, meanwhile, play at home to Cadiz on Sunday when Ronald Koeman's side will be hoping to ease the pain of the Champions League thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain in midweek with an eighth consecutive win in La Liga. Victory would put them six points behind Atletico.

 

February 20, 2021