( CNN ) -- Real Madrid recovered from going a goal behind to beat rivals Atletico Madrid 3-2 on Sunday to return to the top of the Spanish Primera Liga ahead of Barcelona . But they did not have things their own way at the Bernabeu and went into the interval trailing after a flowing Atletico move saw the ball reach former Real striker Jose Antonio Reyes , who curled home a delightful shot to give the visitors the lead . But Real were a different side after the break and levelled in the 49th minute when Xabi Alonso netted from close range . And six minutes later , the home side were ahead when defender Alvaro Arbeloa -- who like Alonso moved to Madrid from Liverpool last pre-season -- superbly cut inside his marker before stroking the ball home . Madrid made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute when top scorer Gonzalo Higuain took advantage of a defensive mix-up to fire home . However , the scoring was still not over and Alonso turned from hero to villain when handling the ball in the area , with Diego Forlan slotting home the resulting penalty . Forlan missed a golden chance to level in the final minute when firing into the side-netting , but Real Madrid held on to move ahead of Barcelona , who scraped a narrow 1-0 victory at Mallorca on Saturday , on goal difference . The victory was Real 's 11th in succession and continued their recent domination over their city rivals , with Atletico not winning a derby match since 1999 . In other matches , Sevilla 's recent poor run of form continued with a 3-0 defeat at Villarreal , for whom veteran Frenchman Robert Pires came off the substitutes ' bench to score a superb third goal . Struggling Xerez thumped Valladolid 3-0 in a battle of the bottom two clubs , while Deportivo La Coruna 's Champions League hopes took a knock after they slumped 3-1 at home to Getafe .
Real Madrid recover from being a point behind to defeat El Atletico 3 - 2 . The victory extends Real 's winning run in the La Liga to 17 matches . The win sees Real return to the top of the Spanish table on goal difference .