Sevilla closed the gap to second-placed Barcelona to one point in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
There were no goals in the first period but Vicente Iborra blasted a second-half hat-trick to win it for Jorge Sampaoli's side.
He got his first in the 52nd minute with a header from a corner and sealed the game with a second from Vitolo's set-up.
He completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Gustavo Cabral fouled Joaquin Correa in the box.
Athletic Bilbao missed a chance to go fifth as they lost 1-0 at Real Betis, with Ruben Castro stroking in the only goal in the 18th minute at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Espanyol extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to eight matches and climbed to ninth in the table with a 2-1 home victory over Sporting Gijon.
Ecuador forward Felipe Caicedo opened the scoring in the 54th minute with a brave header before Leo Baptistao scored a cracker on the break in the final minute.
Duje Cop's free-kick in stoppage time halved the deficit but it was another encouraging result for Quique Sanchez Flores' men.
The day's other match between Eibar and Alaves finished goalless.
