Luis Suarez's penalty sent Atletico Madrid six points clear at the top of La Liga on Wednesday as the leaders survived a scare to beat a resurgent Athletic Bilbao 2-1.
Atletico conceded late to draw with Real Madrid on Sunday, a result that kept their opponents in the title race and allowed Barcelona to move just three points behind.
But Diego Simeone's side made full use of their last game in hand, with Marcos Llorente's header and a Suarez spot-kick overturning Iker Muniain's opener for Bilbao, who had dominated the first half.
Suarez and Llorente have been the driving forces behind Atletico's charge this term and so it proved again at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Suarez scoring his 18th league goal of the season, after Llorente had nodded in his ninth.
"For a year now Marcos has exemplified the word effort," said Simeone.
"He arrived at the club, he wasn't in the team, not even on the bench, but he kept training and making the effort to get to where he wanted to get to and he managed it."
Victory also puts Atleti eight points clear of Real Madrid and while Atletico still have to play at Barcelona in May, a Clasico next month at the Santiago Bernabeu complicates matters further for their chasing rivals.
By conceding to Karim Benzema in the 88th minute on Sunday, Atletico squandered the chance to land a heavy blow on Real Madrid and it would have been easy to let the disappointment linger.
Instead, they rallied to defeat one of the form sides in the league and take another step closer to lifting their first La Liga title since 2014.
"It was certainly very important," said Simeone. "After Sunday, we needed to get back to winning."
Bilbao have been transformed since the appointment of Marcelino Garcia Toral, who in two months has seen them win the Spanish Super Cup, reach the final of the Copa del Rey and climb back into contention for European qualification in La Liga.
His team were stronger and sharper in the first half, pushing Atletico to retreat further and further towards their own goal.
They took a deserved lead when Oscar de Marcos' superb pass sent Inaki Williams in behind and his cutback found the arriving Muniain, whose scuffed finish squirmed its way in.
Atletico struggled for chances but, against the run of play, found a lifeline on the stroke of half-time with a goal very similar to Bilbao's.
This time Thomas Lemar was threaded through and his cross was met by the head of Llorente.
It was a crucial goal, changing the complexion of the second half, with Atletico beginning where they left off.
Llorente found Suarez, who wriggled past Unai Nunez and tumbled over his dangling leg. Suarez drove the penalty into the corner.
Atletico could have made it more comfortable but Yannick Carrasco failed to finish a Suarez cross while Llorente was unable to make the most of openings down the right.
A nervy finish gave Bilbao a chance but they let it slip through their fingers, Unai glancing a header into the grateful hands of Jan Oblak.
Expert advice
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Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
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Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
