Barcelona stay top in La Liga after Atletico draw

Atletico Madrid failed to regain the Spanish league lead from Barcelona on Sunday after being held 0-0 at home by a Sevilla side that had both a player and coach Unai Emery sent off.

The stumble left Barcelona ahead of Atletico on goal difference thanks to Saturday's 2-1 win at Malaga. The title-holders will also have an extra game to play after they host Atletico next weekend in a highly anticipated meeting between the last two league champions at Camp Nou.

Antoine Griezmann had Atletico's best scoring chance when his header hit the post in the 53rd.

Sevilla then dug in and held on after Victor "Vitolo" Machin earned a second booking in the 61st, with Emery being sent off moments later for protesting the referee's decision.

Real Madrid can close the five-point gap from third place if it takes points at Real Betis later, after Deportivo La Coruna hosts Valencia.

Emery's starting 11 was heavy with defensive players, and his game plan succeeded in disrupting Atletico's attack to end its nine-game winning streak across all competitions at their Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Atletico have based their title bid on an excellent defense and players rising to the occasion to get goals that their strikers, with the notable exception of Griezmann, have failed to produce.

With Fernando Torres watching from the stands, Atletico coach Diego Simeone sent on forwards Yannick Carrasco, Jackson Martinez and Angel Correa after Sevilla lost Vitolo, but the visitors withstood the onslaught.

"We created chances but they just wouldn't go in," said Atletico midfielder Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion, who repeated Simeone's line that, despite winning the title in 2014, Atletico is not a contender to outlast the star-studded squads of Barcelona and Madrid.

"We have always said finishing third is our goal," Koke said. "But we will give it our all next game at Barcelona."

Elsewhere, Aritz Aduriz scored two goals to lead Athletic Bilbao's 5-2 rout of visitors Eibar in a Basque Country derby. Aduriz's 12th and 13th league goals took his overall tally this campaign to 23.