Atletico Madrid have linked iron grip on the league lead, but in recent rounds, the team behind it has made contact.
Today they were visited by Real Madrid, who are heel to heel with Barcelona, and Atletico set the tone immediately.
Luis Suarez was released by Marcos Llorente and with a perfect outside, he screwed in 1-0 at the far post for the home team.
Late receipt
Atletico looked to hold on and take a big step towards the league title, but in the 88th minute Real's Karim Benzema wanted something else.
The French striker wall-played with Casemiro and slammed in 1-1, which was also the end result in the capital.
The victory means that Atletico leads the series with three points and one match less played than Barcelona. Real is third.