Nine yellow and one red card as Atlético beat Athletico Bilbao 2-0 with goals from David Villa and Diego Costa.
Atlético Madrid remain one point behind Barcelona in La Liga and five points ahead of Real Madrid.
Málaga overcame fierce rivals Real Betis 3-2 at La Rosaleda on Sunday night to move to a mid-table position in La Liga. Santa Cruz, Eliseu and García Sánchez were on target for the Blue and Whites, Verdú and Figueras replying for Betis. Málaga are currently 12th.