Atlético Madrid wins again, stays 5 points ahead in Spain

Atlético Madrid got back to winning on Sunday, beating Villarreal 2-0 to halt its slump and restore a five-point lead at the top of the Spanish league.

An own-goal by Alfonso Pedraza in the first half and a goal by forward João Félix in the second helped Atlético end a three-game winless streak and rebuild its lead over second-place Barcelona, which won 2-0 at fourth-place Sevilla on Saturday. Atlético has a game in hand compared to the Catalan club.

Third-place Real Madrid can get back to within three points of Atlético on Monday with a win against fifth-place Real Sociedad at home. Madrid will have played one more game more than Atlético.

Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic, second right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Atlético hosts Madrid in the city derby next Sunday.

Diego Simeone's team was coming off a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. It also lost 2-0 to Levante at home in the Spanish league, and had previously drawn with Levante in a league match postponed from the second round because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was a very important victory,” Atlético defender Stefan Savic said. “We were coming off a bad streak of results and the team responded well. That’s what makes me happy.”

Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

It was Atlético's first clean sheet after eight matches, which had marked the team's worst streak conceding goals since Simeone arrived in late 2011.

Unai Emery's Villarreal, winless in six consecutive Spanish league games, dropped to seventh place.

Atlético went ahead in the 25th minute after Savic's header was saved by Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo but the ball ricocheted off Pedraza and went in. The goal was initially disallowed for offside but later confirmed by video review.

Atletico Madrid players celebrate after their teammate Stefan Savic scored his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Félix, who recently was sidelined for testing positive for COVID-19, scored his first goal since January with a low shot from inside the area in the 69th. The Portugal forward, who came off the bench after halftime, celebrated profusely and put a finger to his mouth, as if asking someone to be quiet. It wasn't clear to whom he was sending a message.

MURILLO SCORES LATE

Colombian defender Jeison Murillo scored in the final minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Celta Vigo against relegation-threatened Valladolid.

Villareal's Manu Trigueros, right, fights for the ball with Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Murillo netted the equalizer with a header from a set piece taken by Iago Aspas in the fourth minute of added time. Fabián Orellana had opened the scoring for the hosts in the 70th.

The result extended Valladolid's winless streak in the league to eight matches. The team owned by former Brazil great Ronaldo stayed just outside the relegation zone with 22 points from 25 matches.

Celta, which has one win in its last 10 matches in all competitions, was in 11th place with 30 points from 25.

Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix, left, plays the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

OTHER RESULTS

Eighth-place Granada ended a six-match winless streak by beating second-to-last-place Elche 2-1 at home.

Earlier, Juanmi Jiménez scored in the 84th as Real Betis won 1-0 at Cádiz. It was the third win in a row for Betis, which moved to sixth.

Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez runs with the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Cádiz, winless in seven consecutive league games, is three points from the relegation zone.

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Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simone stands on the touchline during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Villareal's Gerard Moreno, right, fights for the ball with Villareal's Vicente Iborra during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Villareal's Manu Trigueros, center, fights for the ball with Atletico Madrid's Saul, left, and Atletico Madrid's Thomas Lemar during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix, second right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP PhotoJose Breton)

Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 on Thursday to make sure Real Madrid will have to wait at least another week to celebrate the Spanish league title.

Barcelona's away victory reduced its gap to Madrid to 15 points, and it can further cut it to 12 points on Sunday if it defeats Rayo Vallecano at home in a game it has in hand.

Barcelona and Madrid, which won 3-1 at Osasuna on Wednesday, will have five games left. Madrid, trying to clinch its second title in three seasons, doesn’t play this weekend.

Barcelona's plaers celebrate after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“Madrid was lucky that it took a while for us to join the fight,” Barcelona defender Dani Alves said.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a close-range header in the 11th minute to give Barcelona its first win after consecutive home losses against Cádiz in the league and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. The Catalan club had not lost two straight home games since 2003.

The victory against Sociedad left Barcelona tied on points with Sevilla, which defeated Levante earlier Thursday to stay in position to secure a Champions League place next season. Second place also is important as it guarantees a spot in the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“We suffered a lot but in the end we got three golden points and stayed in second place,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “It was an important victory even though we didn’t play too well.”

Defending champion Atlético Madrid, which was held to a 0-0 home draw against relegation-threatened Granada on Wednesday, stayed two points behind Barcelona and Sevilla. Fifth-place Real Betis trailed Atlético by four points and was two ahead of Sociedad.

Sociedad has not beaten Barcelona in 12 straight league matches. The Basque Country club hadn't lost in seven consecutive league games at home, all of them with clean sheets.

Barcelona's Dani Alves, left, fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Diego Rico during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak on the road to 13 league matches, having won five in a row.

Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo left injured early in the second half, and the team's other central defender, Gerard Piqué, appeared to get injured in the first half but stayed until being substituted in the 82nd while being loudly jeered by the Sociedad fans.

Piqué, who also heard some boos every time he touched the ball during the game, has been in the spotlight in recent days after stolen audio leaked to the media exposed a series of conversations between him and Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales talking about behind-the-scenes negotiations on several issues.

Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, left, vies for the ball with Real Sociedad's Igor Zubeldia during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

SEVILLA RECOVERS

Sevilla improved its chances of making it to the Champions League with a 3-2 win at second-to-last-place Levante.

Jesús “Tecatito” Corona scored two first-half goals and Jules Koundé added another after halftime.

Barcelona's Dani Alves reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Levante captain José Luis Morales had to be comforted by teammates and opponents after the match because of a missed penalty kick that could have equalized the game at 2-2 in the second half. Koundé gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead about 10 minutes later before Roberto Soldado pulled the hosts closer again.

Levante stayed tied with last-place Alavés, six points from safety.

CÁDIZ FALLS AGAIN

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, left, tries to score next to Real Sociedad's goalkeeper Alex Remiro during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Cádiz followed up its stunning 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium with a 3-2 home loss against Athletic Bilbao.

The result left Cádiz just outside the relegation zone.

Eighth-place Athletic was up 3-0 by the 33rd. It played a man down from the 71st after Mikel Vesga was sent off.

Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

RELIEF FOR RAYO

Rayo won 1-0 at Espanyol to end a 13-match winless streak in the league and move closer to salvation.

Sergi Guardiola scored in the 42nd to leave the southern Madrid club seven points from the relegation zone in 14th place. Espanyol, sitting in 12th-place, was two points ahead of Rayo.

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