Madrid beat Getafe to extend La Liga lead to 12 points

With a 2-0 win over Getafe on Saturday, Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the La Liga standings to 12-points.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team has already earned 72 points in the league, as they continue to build on their El Clasico disappointment with consecutive victories.

For the first time, Karim Benzema was not on target for Los Blancos, who were led to victory by goals from Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez in either half.

Sevilla had reduced the gap to nine points with a thrilling 2-1 victory against Granada at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Friday night. They appeared destined to surrender points when Victor Diaz equalized in the 88th minute, but Rafa Mir and Alejandro Gomez scored in stoppage time to give the hosts a triumph that puts them in control of a Champions League position.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, is in a more difficult situation. A surprising 1-0 loss away to Real Mallorca, who started the weekend in the bottom three, has increased the pressure on them ahead of their Champions League match against Manchester City in midweek.

Their misfortune was exacerbated by the fact that Real Betis had defeated Cadiz 2-1 earlier in the day, allowing Mallorca to leapfrog them due to Atleti’s error. Betis won the game after scoring twice late in the second half. They were behind 1-0 until Cristian Tello scored in the 79th minute, and then Borja Iglesias scored from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining.

In the other game of the day, Villarreal and Athletic Club drew 1-1, which benefits neither team in their quest for European football next season.

Barcelona will go to Levante away from home in the showpiece match of Sunday’s schedule, with the lowest team in desperate need of points to even have a chance of survival.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, travels to Elche in an attempt to bolster their Champions League chances following Atletico Madrid’s defeat on Saturday.