Atlético Madrid 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Substitute Antoine Griezmann scored the winner as Atletico Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 to stay in the La Liga title race with two games left.

Griezmann's 31st goal of the season took Atletico back above Real Madrid, 1-0 winners at Real Sociedad, before Barcelona later reclaimed top spot.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone had made seven changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Griezmann scored with his second touch.

Relive Atletico's win here

Antoine Griezmann has scored 21 La Liga goals this season

The France international's 20-yard strike, 40 seconds after coming on, gave Atletico a sixth successive league win but they remain second to Barcelona - who beat Real Betis 2-0 on Saturday evening - because of their inferior head-to-head record.

It was Atletico's fourth 1-0 victory in a row as the 2014 Spanish champions, who will be looking to reach their second Champions League final in three seasons in Tuesday's second leg in Munich, kept a 23rd clean sheet in La Liga this season.

Fernando Torres, who came off the bench at the same time as Griezmann following directions from Simeone, who is serving a three-match touchline ban, could have doubled their lead but saw his shot saved by Juan Carlos.

Rayo Vallecano remain two points above the relegation zone.

What they said

Atletico Madrid goalscorer Antoine Griezmann: "Rayo made things difficult for us.

"The players who started lacked rhythm, which was normal, as they hadn't played in a long time. But we were able to improve and got the win."