Barcelona, Spain: Tiago Cardoso scored and set up another goal as Atletico Madrid ended 10-man Malaga's winning streak with a 3-1 victory to provisionally go second in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Tiago's header from a corner kick in the 12th minute put the hosts in front before Arda Turan crossed for Antoine Griezmann to make it 2-0 in the 42nd.
Malaga arrived after a club record five straight wins but Atletico denied the visitors a scoring chance until Roque Santa Cruz struck in the 64th.
Malaga went down to 10 men when Samuel Garcia received his second yellow card in the 73rd, and Diego Godin headed in Tiago's lobbed pass in the 84th.
The defending champions climbed to within one point of leader Real Madrid, which visits Eibar later.
