Atletico Madrid picked up its first home league defeat of the season after going down 2-0 to 10-man Real Betis Sunday to increase the pressure on coach Gregorio Manzano. Alex Pozuelo scored in the 54th minute and substitute Roque Santa Cruz added a second in stoppage time to give Betis a second straight victory and boost its own beleaguered coach, Pepe Mel. Pozuelo was sent off in the 72nd. Also Sunday, Granada secured a 2-1 home win against fourth-place Levante with a penalty from Guilherme Siqueira in the 35th and a second goal from Abel Gomez just before half time. Arouna Kone pulled a goal back for Levante on the hour mark, but Granada held on to claim its fifth league victory of the season and move into mid-table. Osasuna came from behind to prolong Villarreal's miserable season with a 2-1 win. On Saturday, a hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Real Madrid to a 6-2 romp at Seville to lead Barcelona by three points atop the standings. Cristiano Ronaldo netted his fifth La Liga hat trick of the campaign as Real Madrid brushed off Pepe's 44th-minute dismissal to secure a crushing victory at Sevilla. In other games, it was: Mallorca 1, Getafe 2; Sporting Gijon 1, Espanyol 2; and Athletic Bilbao 2, Zaragoza 1. After Sunday's fixtures, the Spanish league takes a three-week break.
