MADRID: After Atletico Madrid stumbled in La Liga, Real Madrid didn’t miss their chance to move closer to the top.

Real won 1-0 at Valladolid on Saturday for their fourth consecutive win, while Atletico lost points for the second straight match in a 2-0 home loss against Levante that ended their 11-game unbeaten streak in the league.

The results left second-placed Real within three points of Atletico, who have a game in hand but are starting to feel the heat.

Casemiro scored with a 65th-minute header off a cross by Toni Kroos to give Real the win two rounds before they visit Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Real have been able to inch closer to the top despite playing without several key players recently because of injuries, including Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Eden Hazard.

None of them could play in Valladolid as Real withstood a few threats but were mostly in control against the hosts, who are winless in seven matches in all competitions and sit second-to-last in the 20-team standings.

Atleti’s defeat was only their second in the league this season and their first at the Wanda Metropolitano in any competition since Barca beat them there in December 2019. They have now gone seven league games without a clean sheet, their longest run since Diego Simeone became coach in 2011.

Due to rearranged fixtures, they were facing Levante for the second time in four days and Levante proved their draw in midweek was no fluke, even if they had to survive 28 Atletico shots before the final whistle blew.

Jose Luis Morales put Levante in front in the 30th minute with a deflected finish off Felipe and while Atletico huffed and puffed, they were unable to find a way past Levante’s inspired goalkeeper Dani Cardenas.

Cardenas made 10 saves, the most from any La Liga keeper without conceding this term.

Atletico’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak then went up for a corner in injury-time, leaving Jorge de Frutos to make it two from the halfway line by launching into an open net.

Manu Vallejo and Kevin Gameiro scored a goal each in second-half stoppage time as Valencia beat Celta Vigo 2-0 at home.

Elche beat visiting Eibar 1-0 with a first-half goal by Dani Calvo in a match between relegation-threatened teams.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2021