Real Sociedad held on to fourth place in LaLiga with a 2-0 win over Elche on Sunday, under pressure from Real Betis and Villarreal who both won too.
Betis, fifth, are three points behind the Basque side after they beat Mallorca 1-0, while Villarreal, sixth, thrashed Osasuna 3-0 on the road and sit four points behind the Andalucians.
Veteran playmaker David Silva pulled the strings for Imanol Alguacil's Real Sociedad as they eased past bottom-of-the-table Elche at the Reale Arena.
Silva set up the opening goal for Takefusa Kubo early in the second half after La Real had dominated the first period without finding the net.
Ander Barrenetxea netted the second late on to secure the points and earn his side their first win in seven games across all competitions.
After a slump which also saw them knocked out of the Europa League by Jose Mourinho's Roma this week, the win was welcome respite for Real Sociedad.
Betis bounced back from their own knock-out by Manchester United with a hard-fought win over Mallorca at the Benito Villamarin.
Borja Iglesias netted the only goal of the game early in the second half when he cleverly deflected Youssouf Sabaly's effort into the bottom corner.
Mallorca, who saw Vedat Muriqi's first half strike ruled out for offside, rarely came close to pulling level.
Villarreal stayed in the race too with a comfortable win at Osasuna, which saw Jose Morales net a brace, including a brilliant effort from near the halfway line.
Samuel Chukwueze sent the visitors ahead and had another goal ruled out for offside.
Substitute Morales, who replaced the injured Gerard Moreno in the first half, wrapped up the win with his late double.
The first was a stunning lob which beat Aitor Fernandez from 45 yards after Morales intercepted a slack pass.