Real Madrid battled back from 2-0 down to beat Sevilla 3-2 on Saturday and go top of the
Spanish first division with
Rafael Van der Vaart grabbing a dramatic stoppage time winner.
After 10-man Barcelona were held 2-2 by Almeria, the incentive was on Real who had the chance to go ahead of the Catalans on goal difference, and they managed it in dramatic fashion at the Bernabeu.
They slumped two-goals down an own-goal from Xabi Alonso and a Ivica Dragutinovic free-kick which caught out Real keeper Iker Casillas.
But Real piled on the pressure with Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos drawing their side level.
It appeared as though Real would have to settle for a draw before a grandstand finish saw Van der Vaart slot home from close range.
A brace from Leo Messi rescued a point for Barcelona at modest Almeria.
Domingo Cisma put the home side in front after he beat Carles Puyol in the air to head past keeper Victor Valdes.
Messi equalised, though, after a contentious free-kick was awarded for a foul on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
An own-goal from Puyol and then the expulsion of Ibrahimovic for kicking out put Almeria firmly in the driving seat but Messi was Barca's saviour, scoring his second from close range mid-way through the second half.
Earlier, a fine strike from Jose Guardado helped Deportivo la Coruna come from behind to beat Tenerife 3-1 and boost their European ambitions.
Deportivo had plenty of early possession but poor defending saw Juanlu Hens give Tenerife the lead.
Juan Rodriguez headed Deportivo level and while they continued to press forward it was Tenerife that went nearer to scoring again when Juan Nino saw a close-range shot saved well by keeper Daniel Aranzubia shortly before half time.
A powerful left-footed drive from Guardado found the corner after 55 minutes and from there Deportivo never looked back with Diego Colotto adding to their lead.
Valencia were well-beaten by Atletico Madrid 4-1 but they still have a three-point cushion above fourth place ahead of Sunday's match with Racing Santander.
Mallorca's remarkable season continues and they will be looking to maintain their strong home form, which has seen them lose just once all season, against Sporting Gijon.
The battle for a European place is fierce and Villarreal, under new coach Juan Carlos Garrido, got back into the frame with victory over Deportivo la Coruna last weekend.
" Garrido has tried to give the team more balance and he knows a lot about defending and how to maintain the possession. It was not normal for us to concede so many goals before. I hope we can get into the Europa League and I know the players will battle until the end," said defender Gonzalo Rodriguez.