Barcelona went three points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday with a 1-0 away win at Atlético Madrid, thanks to a first-half goal from Ousmane Dembélé. Rivals and second-placed Real Madrid suffered 2-1 defeat at Villarreal on Saturday, giving Barça the chance to seize the advantage in the league after 16 rounds. The visitors got the only goal of the game after 22 minutes when Dembélé was played clear inside the box and sent the ball into the bottom right corner. The hosts started to wake up at the end of the half, taking over possession and sending Barcelona into defensive mode. Two minutes into stoppage time Barça’s Ferran Torres and Atlético’s Stefan Savic were sent off for violent conduct as the visitors held on for the narrow win. Third-placed Real Sociedad registered their sixth successive victory in all competitions as they beat Almeria 2-0 away, with David Silva and Alexander Sorloth netting early in the second half. Real Betis are up to fourth following a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano, sealed by Luiz Henrique in the 40th minute. An Ivan Balliu own goal had earlier been cancelled out by Rayo’s Sergio Camello. Sevilla moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 home defeat of Getafe. Marcos Acuña and Rafa Mir put the hosts two goals up before Borja Mayoral pulled one back late on for Getafe.