AFP
Atletico Madrid bounced back from recent poor form with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Villarreal on Sunday that allowed the La Ligapace-setters to extend their lead to five points.
An own goal from Alfonso Pedraza and Joao Felix's powerful strike gave Atletico a precious win after a wobble which had allowed Barcelona and Real Madrid to gain ground in the title race.
Diego Simeone's side had come into the match off the back of a Champions League last 16 defeat to Chelsea and a league run in which they picked up just five points from their previous four matches.
However despite Villarreal coming close on a number of occasions Atletico held on for a win that ensures they keep second-placed Barca at bay and crucially increase the gap between them and rivals Real Madrid to six points ahead of next weekend's local derby.
Madrid can go back to within three points of Atletico when they host Europe-chasing Real Sociedad on Monday night.
"We suffered, and even after the second goal they had good chances. But we come home with a very important victory at this point in the season," said Simeone.
Atletico opened the scoring thanks to Pedraza's odd own goal mid-way through the first half, which came after long VAR check to see if Stefan Savic, who was initially credited with the goal, had strayed offside for Thomas Lemar's cross.
Savic's header was saved by Sergio Asenjo only for the ball to ricochet off Pedraza and into the net as the 24-year-old defender fell over.
Gerard Moreno should have pulled the hosts level when he met a Daniel Parejo cross but couldn't muster a decisive finish and Savic recovered easily to clear the ball off the line.