Saturday's La Liga action featured contrasting fortunes for two Madrid sides as Atletico Madrid stumbled into second place.
Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Real Valladolid left them four points clear of the title, while Los Rojiblancos were in the hands of Villarreal.
A draw in the capital was mirrored by a 1-1 draw between Sevilla and Espanyol, with Real Betis recording a dramatic late victory in Mallorca.
Mallorca 0-1 Real Betis
Rea Betis ended a three-match losing streak in all competitions at the last possible moment in Palma.
The hosts provided a boring first half, but with no real openings on either side.
With the chances remaining slim, Real Betis' cause was helped with twenty minutes to go when Omar Mascarell was shown a straight red card for the home side.
However, there was to be a final twist as Cedric Bakambu launched himself a cross in the 94th minute to head in his first league goal of the season.
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Villarreal
Atletico Madrid made a mistake at Leganes last weekend and this time they stuttered at home against Villarreal.
The hosts fell behind early on as Reinildo Mandava was penalized for a foul on Gerard Moreno and the Spain international converted the resulting penalty.
A controversial setback caused frustration for Diego Simeone before Samuel Lino slotted home an equalizer after the break as Los Rojiblancos pushed for a winner that never came too late.
Sevilla 1-1 Espanyol
The spoils were shared in Seville as both sides extended their unbeaten starts to three games in the league until 2025, despite the home side looking at European qualification and Espanyol in a relegation battle.
Marash Kumbulla scored a rare goal to put the away side ahead before Loic Bade confirmed his intention to stay with Sevilla this month with a second-half equalizer for the hosts.
Images via Getty Images/One Football
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