BARCELONA: Real Madrid lost 2-1 at Sevilla on Wednesday in the aftermath of its stinging “clasico” defeat as it slipped behind in the Spanish title race, while Atletico Madrid and Barcelona kept winning to move ahead of their rival in the standings.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid in charge with his league-leading 27th goal of the season in the 14th minute, but Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca scored twice, in the 19th and 73rd, to complete the comeback.

Madrid’s loss at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium came four days after it squandered a chance to effectively end Barcelona’s title defense, with Lionel Messi out-dueling Ronaldo by scoring a hat trick for a thrilling 4-3 win in the Spanish capital. These consecutive losses came after Carlo Ancelotti’s side had gone undefeated for 31 straight matches.

Costa’s second-half header gave Atletico a 1-0 victory at home over Granada as it moved three points clear of Madrid with eight rounds remaining.

Lionel Messi and Neymar helped Barcelona stay one point behind Atletico as it rose into second place, but the 3-0 win over Celta Vigo came at the cost of goalkeeper Victor Valdes tearing a right knee ligament.

Also, Rayo Vallecano beat Osasuna 1-0 thanks to Joaquin Lavirrey’s 90th-minute penalty for its fourth win in five rounds to edge away from the relegation zone.

Liverpool stays alive

In-form Liverpool enhanced their Premier League title credentials and closed to within a point of leaders Chelsea after overcoming a stubborn Sunderland side 2-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Steven Gerrard’s superb 39th-minute free-kick broke the deadlock and Daniel Sturridge doubled the hosts’ lead early in the second half, only for Ki Sung-yueng’s late header to leave Liverpool hanging on.

When the final whistle did come, to roars of relief from the home fans, it gave Brendan Rodgers’s side a seventh consecutive victory and took them above Manchester City, who retain two games in hand.

In the day’s other game, West Ham United edged 10-man Hull City 2-1 at Upton Park to end a run of three straight defeats and ease their relegation fears.

Mark Noble put West Ham ahead from the spot in the 26th minute after visiting goalkeeper Allan McGregor had been sent off for a foul on Mohamed Diame.

Nikica Jelavic deflected in a Tom Huddlestone free kick early in the second half to level the scores, but a 54th-minute own goal by James Chester gave West Ham victory.

Juventus scrapes past Parma

Two goals in seven minutes from Carlos Tevez kept Juventus on course for a third successive Serie A title with a 2-1 win over Parma which ended the away side’s 17-match unbeaten run and set a record of 15 successive home wins in a season.

Argentine Tevez struck in the 25th and 32nd minutes to go back to the top of the Serie A scoring charts with 18 goals and extended Juve’s lead to 14 points after AS Roma had cut the gap to 11 with a last gasp 2-1 win over Torino on Tuesday.

Defeat for Parma left them sixth, level on 47 points with fifth-placed Inter Milan, who host Udinese on Thursday.

Atalanta are four points behind the pair after a 2-0 win over 18th-placed Livorno, their fifth victory in a row, thanks to goals from Giuseppe De Luca and German Denis.

Lazio slipped to eighth with a 2-0 loss at Genoa. Antonio Conte’s Juve moved up to 81 points and stayed 20 ahead of third-placed Napoli, who beat bottom side Catania 4-2 in a thrilling game in Sicily.

Rafael Benitez’s team raced into a 4-0 halftime lead thanks to a double from Duvan Zapata, a tap-in from Jose Callejon following a comical defensive mix-up and a stunning volley from Henrique.

“We did very well in attack, but leading 4-0 at half-time made it difficult to maintain concentration,” said Benitez.

Napoli are now 10 points ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina, having lost to Vincenzo Montella’s side in Naples at the weekend, thanks to AC Milan, who relieved the pressure on their under-fire manager Clarence Seedorf with a 2-0 win in Florence.

Milan remain in 12th place on 39 points after a 23rd-minute header from Philippe Mexes and a delicate Mario Balotelli free kick just after the hour mark secured their first league win in five games, offering Seedorf a stay of execution after reportedly being given two matches to save his job.

Cagliari were the big winners at the bottom of the table, taking advantage of Livorno’s defeat by beating Hellas Verona 1-0 with a bullet Nene header and moving up to 32 points, eight clear of the drop zone.

They are five ahead of Chievo Verona, who inched three points away from from the bottom three with a thumping 3-0 win against Bologna.