( CNN ) -- Real Madrid returned to the top of the table in Spain after edging past Racing Santander 1-0 on Saturday , while previous leaders Barcelona could only draw 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao . Real , still missing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and with veteran talisman Raul starting on the bench , dominated struggling Santander but had only a solitary first-half strike from Gonzalo Higuain to show for it . The visitors should have snatched a point , but Sergio Canales saw his 77th minute effort wrongly ruled out for an offside by a teammate who was not in the line of play . Real , whose last home outing ended in an embarrassing exit from the Copa Del Rey against lower-league opposition , saw midfielder Xabi Alonso hit the post in the 13th minute and then defender Alvaro Arbeloa also hit the woodwork with a floated cross . Argentina forward Higuain , who started in place of Raul , kept up his good goalscoring form in the 22nd minute when he pounced from close range after Kaka 's right-wing cross was not cleared . Karim Benzema thought he had doubled the lead in the 55th minute , but the France forward 's effort was correctly ruled out for a marginal offside before he made way for Raul . The result lifted some of the pressure piling up on Real coach Manuel Pellegrini , who has a big week ahead with Wednesday 's Champions league clash against FC Zurich and then the `` El Clasico '' battle with Barcelona on Sunday . Real will go into that match at the Nou Camp with a one-point lead over Barca , who were missing the swine flu-stricken Rafael Marquez , Yaya Toure and Eric Abidal and the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the trip to Bilbao . Lionel Messi inspired the Spanish and European champions ' best moments in the first half , with Thierry Henry left on the bench following his controversial handball incident in France 's World Cup playoff win against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday . But it was the Basque side who should have taken the lead on the stroke of halftime when Javier Martinez headed a golden chance wide when it seemed easier to score . Barcelona took the lead in the 54th minute when Xavi threaded a superb pass to Dani Alves and the Brazilian fullback coolly slotted in the opening goal . However , that lead lasted only nine minutes as substitute Gaizka Toquero ghosted in behind Alves to collect his teammate 's headed flick-on and calmly sidefoot high into the net . Henry was finally brought on by coach Pep Guardiola in the 84th minute , but Barcelona could not penetrate the stubborn Bilbao defense , with the home side left in seventh place after a hard-earned point . Barcelona next take on Italian champions Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday , needing a result to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages . Sevilla consolidated third place after holding on to win 2-1 at Tenerife . Diego Perotti put the visitors ahead in the 32nd minute with a close-range finish from a cross by new Spain cap Jesus Navas , who almost gave away a penalty three minutes into the second half when Marc Valiente went down . Sevilla immediately counter-attacked and midfielder Renato crashed in a shot from the edge of the area after being set up by fellow Brazilian Luis Fabiano . Striker Nino gave Tenerife hope with a superb volley 15 minutes from the end , but Sevilla defended well to earn the three points . Atletico Madrid crashed to a third straight defeat under new coach Quique Sanchez Flores , losing 2-1 at Deportivo La Coruna after Andres Guardado 's dramatic last-minute penalty . Argentina striker Sergio Aguero put Atletico ahead after just three minutes , but Diego Colotto leveled the score on 20 and Guardado kept his cool at the death after Pablo brought down Alberto Lopo . Sanchez Flores raced onto the pitch as Atletico protested furiously , resulting in Cleber Santana being sent off .
Real Madrid return to top of table in Spain after beating Racing Santander 1-0 . Visitors unlucky not to earn a point as Sergio Canales has effort wrongly ruled out . Previous leaders Barcelona are one point adrift of Real after 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao . La Liga 's top two teams will clash in `` El Clasico '' at the Nou Camp next Sunday .