BARCELONA — Atletico Madrid closed the gap on Barcelona to nine points at the top of La Liga, beating Valencia 1-0 Sunday after the leader had dropped points at local rivals Espanyol. Angel Correa’s thunderbolt from outside the area in the 59th minute helped Atletico to get a narrow win from a tight match, after Barcelona needed talisman center back Gerard Pique to tie a spiky derby clash 1-1 in Cornella. Pique nodded home in the 82nd minute after Gerard Moreno’s opener to help Barcelona maintain its unbeaten La Liga record. Barcelona has now gone a club record 22 league games without defeat, surpassing the total of 21 it managed under Pep Guardiola in the 2009-10 season. Monaco rallies Monaco overcame a two-goal deficit and a red card to beat Lyon 3-2 Sunday, leapfrogging its rival to move up to third place in the French league. Midfielder Rony Lopes swept home a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area with one minute remaining, prompting jubilant scenes on the home bench. Lyon looked in total control after scoring twice inside 30 minutes. Monaco drew level but then had forward Keita Balde sent off just before halftime. Lyon’s attack can be lethal, but its sloppy defense is prone to huge lapses in concentration. Last weekend, it was a similar story in a 3-1 defeat at Bordeaux. Lyon dropped to fourth, two points behind Monaco and three behind Marseille. Runaway leade Paris Saint-Germain is 11 points clear at the top. Monaco’s win was even more impressive considering top scorer Radamel Falcao and goalkeeper Danijel Subasic went off injured during the game. Striker Yeni Ngbakoto’s stunning first goal for Guingamp secured the Brittany derby with a 1-0 win at Rennes. Rennes was pushing forward for a winner in the second minute of injury time when Guingamp’s defense smashed the ball clear up the field. Ngbakoto chased it down to the right edge of the penalty area, before clipping a curling half-volley over goalkeeper Tomas Koubek and into the bottom left corner. The win was even sweeter for traveling fans since it moved Guingamp above Rennes and into ninth place, with Rennes dropping to 10th. — Agencies