Real Madrid ended the year with a flourish by winning 2-1 with a brace from their captain Karim Benzema at Athletic Bilbao, in anticipation of the 21st day of the Spanish championship.
With 46 points (W14, D4, L1), Real now have an eight-point advantage over Sevilla, their immediate rival, and Betis third).
Atletico Bilbao is tenth.
Real had to anticipate this meeting due to a programming problem linked to the Coppa de Re. In the afternoon, Atlético Madrid, defending champions in great difficulty, closed 2021 with their fourth consecutive loss in La Liga, on the field of Granada (2 -1), in a recovery of the ninth day.
Diego Simeone's team is fifth, 17 points behind Real.
