A penalty awarded in the final minute of extra-time for a Heitinga foul on Drenthe, and converted by Gonzalo Higuain (photo), handed Real all three points against local rivals Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderón stadium in last night's big derby game.

The home side had trailed since Ruud van Nistelrooy's first minute goal - a snap shot from 30 yards that beat Leo Franco on his near post after just 34 seconds - and were reduced to ten men midway through the first half when Luis Perea was dismissed for elbowing Wesley Sneijder in the face, but the referee evened things up six minutes later when Van Nistelrooy went for a late challenge on Maniche.

With numerical parity restored, Atlético went in search of the equaliser, but were unable to beat Casillas until the 89th minute when Simao curled one in with his left foot from a free-kick 25 yards out.

In yesterday's late game, Raúl Tamudo missed a penalty as provisional overnight leaders, Villarreal, were held to a goalless draw by Espanyol.

Saturday, 18th October
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid
Espanyol 0-0 Villarreal

Liga standings, 18th October
1  Villarreal  17*
2  Real Madrid  16*
3  Valencia  16
4  Sevilla  14
5  Barcelona  13
6  Almeria  11
7  Atletico Madrid  9*
8  Getafe  9
9  Espanyol  9*
10 Deportivo La Coruna  8
11 Real Mallorca  8
12 Malaga  7
13 Real Valladolid  6
14 Racing Santander  5
15 Athletic Bilbao  5
16 Osasuna  4
17 Numancia  4
18 Recreativo Huelva  4
19 Sporting Gijon  3
20 Real Betis  2
*played 7, the rest have played six

Sunday, 19th October
Malaga vs Getafe
Racing Santander vs Deportivo La Coruna
Real Betis vs Mallorca
Sporting Gijon vs Osasuna
Valencia vs Numancia
Valladolid vs Recreativo Huelva
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona
Almeria vs Sevilla