WITH three goals in 20 minutes Sunday, Real Madrid made sure that Barcelona’s stint at the top of the Spanish league didn’t last more than a few hours.

    Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 with a late winner by Lionel Messi earlier Sunday to move into the lead, but Madrid scored three times in the second half to erase a two-goal deficit and beat Villarreal 3-2.

    “In the end we come away with three points against an opponent that can make things difficult for you,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We’re happy to earn the win against a great side.”

    Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata scored for Madrid, which was coming off a loss at Valencia.

    Zidane’s team equaled Barcelona’s record from as far back as 1944 of 44 straight games scoring at least one goal.

    Seeking its first league title since 2012, Madrid still has a game in hand at Celta Vigo.

    A draw or a loss by Madrid at Villarreal would have allowed Barcelona to stay top.

    The hosts went ahead through Manuel Trigueros in the 50th and Cedric Bakambu in the 56th, but Bale pulled Madrid closer with a header in the 64th. Ronaldo equalized by converting a 74th-minute penalty kick prompted by a controversial handball by Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano. Substitute Morata netted the winner with a firm header from close range after a well-placed cross by left back Marcelo.

    Messi added to his impressive scoring run this season with an 86th-minute winner at Atletico’s Vicente Calderon Stadium.

    It was his 35th goal in 35 games, and 11th in the last 10 league games.

    His league-leading 20th goal also secured the Argentina star his 400th victory since officially debuting with Barcelona in 2004.

    The late goal, scored off the rebound of a shot that was initially blocked by a defender, was the latest blow dealt by Messi against Atletico — the team he has scored the most goals against in his career. It was his 27th goal against the Madrid club.

    Barcelona has won five of the last six league games against Atletico, which hasn’t beaten its rival in the last seven games at home dating back to 2010.

    “Unfortunately we have not been getting good results against them, but in all these matches we have played well and shown that we could win,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said.

    Atletico, which had won four in a row at home and was unbeaten in eight league matches, dropped nine points off the lead.

    “We have to stay calm,” Simeone said. “The goal doesn’t change. We will see where we stand in the final rounds.”

    Barcelona badly needed a convincing victory to regain confidence following an unimpressive 2-1 win over promoted Leganes — when Messi also scored a late winner — and a demoralizing 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The Champions League thrashing raised doubts about the team’s potential under coach Luis Enrique.

    “It was important to leave Atletico further behind in the title race,” Luis Enrique said. “It is a direct challenger for the league title.”(SD-Agencies)