A late goal from Marcelo gave Real Madrid a 2-1 win over Valencia at the Bernabeu to keep the pressure on LaLiga title rivals Barcelona.
Real recovered from their El Classico defeat by winning 6-2 at Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday night and were in front on 27 minutes through a close-range header from Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal forward, however, saw his second-half penalty saved by Diego Alves after Dani Parejo was ruled to have pulled down Luca Modric.
Valencia midfielder Parejo made amends when he crashed in an angled free-kick from 25 yards which looked to have earned the visitors a point with just eight minutes left.
However, there was still time for Real to conjure a winner as Brazil defender Marcelo surged to the edge of the penalty area before cutting back inside and curling a low shot into the bottom corner with four minutes remaining.
At the other end of the table, Granada's relegation was confirmed following a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad in Saturday's early kick-off.
Caretaker boss Tony Adams, the former England and Arsenal captain, had been parachuted into the dugout from his role as sporting director by Chinese owner Jiang Lizhang following a poor run under Lucas Alcaraz.
However, a fourth straight defeat under the 50-year-old saw Granada's fate sealed with three games of the season remaining.
Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela had put Real Sociedad in front on the stroke of half-time, with Adrian Ramos headed in a 65th-minute equaliser.
The visitors needed to win all of their remaining games to have a chance of survival, but could not even hang on for a point as Juanmi scored the winner six minutes from time.
Source: PA
