(CNN) -- Real Madrid kept up the pressure on La Liga rivals Barcelona on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Sevilla at the Bernabeu.
A 77th minute strike by Angel Di Maria was enough to see Jose Mourinho's side secure three points.
The win came despite playing the last quarter of the game with ten men, after Ricardo Calvalho was shown his second yellow card for a challenge on Alvaro Negredo.
The Portuguese international was one of twelve players to be cautioned during an ill-tempered match, which also saw Sevilla defender Dabo sent off late in the game.
Sevilla remain in 11th place, while Madrid remain right on the heels of Barcelona in second -- two points behind as La Liga takes its winter break.
Atletico Madrid put the disappointment of this week's Europa League exit behind them as they cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Malaga to move up to sixth in La Liga.
Portuguese midfielder Tiago opened the scoring after 22 minutes and bagged a second in the 69th minute after Dominguez had made it 2-0 three minutes earlier.
Malaga have now lost 11 league games this season and remain third from bottom in the table.
The victory moves Atletico above Getafe on goal difference, who came from two goals down to beat Almeria 3-2 at the Estadio Mediterraneo.
Kalu Uche opened the scoring after seven minutes and Leonardo Ulloa doubled the home side's lead in the 24th minute.
Manu pulled a goal back for Getafe five minutes later and three minutes into the second half Venezuelan striker Miku bundled home an equalizer.
Derek Boateng completed the comeback in the 71st minute to extend Michel's men's unbeaten run to six matches.
Osasuna and bottom-of-the-table Real Zaragoza played out a 0-0 draw.
Meanwhile in Germany's Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to close the gap on league leaders Borussia Dortmund to eight points as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Freiburg.
The hosts took the lead after 16 minutes when Arturo Vidal converted a penalty to score his eighth goal of the season.
But a determined Freiburg fought back with goals from Jan Rosenthal after 24 minutes and Stefan Reisinger midway through the second half.
But the visitors' lead didn't last long as substitute Patrick Helmes finished calmly after Stefan Kiessling set up the scoring opportunity in the 75th minute.
Mario Gomez scored his second hat-trick of the Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich hammered Stuttgart 5-3 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Gomez opened the scoring after 31 minutes and Thomas Muller doubled the lead five minutes later.
Stuttgart's defensive frailties were further exposed when Franck Ribery made it 3-0 with a superb individual goal a minute before half-time.
Stuttgart tried to mount a comeback with substitute Martin Harnik pulling a goal back five minutes after the break.
But any hopes of a lasting revival were immediately snuffed out by Gomez who struck twice in two minutes to complete his hat-trick.
Harnik claimed his second goal on the hour mark, and Christian Gentner made the scoreline slightly more respectable for Stuttgart with a 70th minute strike.
Bayern now lie fifth in the table heading into the winter break. Stuttgart remain in trouble in 17th place with only 12 points. CNN
