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Between Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the top four in the La Liga table kept changing. At one point, Real Madrid moved level on points with Atletico Madrid at the top.
Barcelona also dropped briefly to fourth on the table – as they were overtaken by ambitious Sevilla – before returning to third after thumping Getafe later on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid have had their fair share of pressure from their rivals, but Diego Simeone’s side is handling it well at the moment, having also defeated SD Huesca 2-0.
Atletico see off stubborn Huesca without Suarez
The Rojiblancos allowed their lead at the top of the table to be reduced from 12 points to just three in two months, but they now seem unwilling to drop any more points.
On Thursday, Atletico had to dig deep to secure victory against a Huesca side that sat deep and looked to play on the counter. However, goals from Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco helped to seal an important 2-0 win at the Wander Metropolitano.
The absence of the talismanic Luis Suarez appeared to have an effect on the team’s attack but they managed to cope without the Uruguayan striker, who is out injured.
This was Atletico's sixth win in their last 13 matches. It may not be a good return for a side looking to win the La Liga. However, all that matters at this point is to keep winning.
Rojiblancos maintain three-point lead in La Liga
The midweek fixtures in La Liga saw all the top four teams win their respective matches. Real Madrid defeated Cadiz while Barcelona also routed Getafe 5-2 at the Camp Nou.
These results made Atletico’s win even more important. If the Rojiblancos had dropped points against Huesca, they would have lost their advantage at the top of the table.
"La Liga is very complex and we cannot relax. Tomorrow we will take care of the Bilbao game,” Simeone said after the game, as quoted by Omnisport. "There are four teams close to being able to close a great season."
"Sevilla are doing well, Madrid responded well yesterday and Barcelona are playing now. We think game by game and we are not going to change now. We think about the next game and we will try to move it forward," added Simeone.
As it stands, though, Atletico are three points clear at the top of the table. They only need to match the results of their rivals from now to the final day of the season to be crowned champions.
