Substitute Antoine Griezmann scored the winner as Atletico Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 to stay in the La Liga title race with two games left.
Griezmann's 31st goal of the season took Atletico back above Real Madrid, 1-0 winners at Real Sociedad, before Barcelona later reclaimed top spot.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone had made seven changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Griezmann scored with his second touch.
The France international's 20-yard strike, 40 seconds after coming on, gave Atletico a sixth successive league win but they remain second to Barcelona - who beat Real Betis 2-0 on Saturday evening - because of their inferior head-to-head record.
It was Atletico's fourth 1-0 victory in a row as the 2014 Spanish champions, who will be looking to reach their second Champions League final in three seasons in Tuesday's second leg in Munich, kept a 23rd clean sheet in La Liga this season.
Fernando Torres, who came off the bench at the same time as Griezmann following directions from Simeone, who is serving a three-match touchline ban, could have doubled their lead but saw his shot saved by Juan Carlos.
Rayo Vallecano remain two points above the relegation zone.
| La Liga title run-in | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| DATES | Barcelona | Atletico Madrid | Real Madrid |
| Sunday, 8 May (16:00 BST) | Espanyol (h) | Levante (h) | Valencia (h) |
| Saturday, 14 May (time TBC) | Granada (a) | Celta Vigo (h) | Deportivo La Coruna (a) |
What they said
Atletico Madrid goalscorer Antoine Griezmann: "Rayo made things difficult for us.
"The players who started lacked rhythm, which was normal, as they hadn't played in a long time. But we were able to improve and got the win."
Atl MadridRayo Vallecano
- Possession
- 38%
- 62%
- Shots
- 12
- 13
- Shots on Target
- 6
- 3
- Corners
- 5
- 7
- Fouls
- 14
- 12 tomado de .http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36125974
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