Real Madrid maintained their two-point lead over Barcelona at the top of LaLiga but a side missing Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were put through their paces in a 4-2 win by a spirited Leganes.
The absence of the rested duo, with Karim Benzema also on the bench, allowed fringe striker Alvaro Morata to grab the headlines with a brace at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque.
After James Rodriguez had opened the scoring from a tap in on the quarter of an hour mark, Morata bagged his first three minutes later with a header after a corner had been flicked into his direction.
The former Juventus hitman then had his second as Real went three goals to the good midway through the first half with a fine low finish.
Real showed no signs of missing their key players but 17th-placed Leganes hit back through quickfire goals from Brazilian pair Gabriel and Luciano, both of whom finished from close range to the delight of the partisan crowd.
But Real gave themselves some breathing space three minutes after half-time thanks in part to Morata, whose header came off Leganes defender Martin Mantovani's hand.
The goals then dried up as did the chances, but Real walked off with all three points.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Barcelona scored three goals in the space of nine first-half minutes to brush aside Sevilla 3-0.
Lionel Messi bagged a brace after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring.
Luis Enrique's men were full value for the win against a Sevilla side that were challenging for the title until a recent slump in results, with a defeat at the Nou Camp meaning they have collected only three points from their last five games.
They could have been behind inside the opening five minutes but Messi's first-time strike from just outside the area came back off the underside of the bar.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Barcelona scored three goals in the space of nine first-half minutes to brush aside Sevilla 3-0.
Lionel Messi bagged a brace after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring.
Luis Enrique's men were full value for the win against a Sevilla side that were challenging for the title until a recent slump in results, with a defeat at the Nou Camp meaning they have collected only three points from their last five games.
They could have been behind inside the opening five minutes but Messi's first-time strike from just outside the area came back off the underside of the bar.
Barca did go ahead in the 25th minute when Suarez reacted quickest to a loose ball in the six-yard box to acrobatically find the net.
Three minutes later Messi finished off a rapid break to make it 2-0. Ivan Rakitic released Neymar down the left and, after his cross came to Suarez at the back post, the former Liverpool man squared for Messi to slot home from six yards.
The game was as good as over in the 33rd minute when Messi scored his second of the evening and 43rd of the campaign.
poor header by Nicolas Pareja dropped perfectly for the Argentinian, who volleyed past a helpless Sergio Rico from 12 yards.
There proved to be no way back for Sevilla and their evening was compounded by the late dismissal of Vitolo, who was given his marching orders in added time after picking up a second caution.
Osasuna boosted their improbable survival hopes by winning for the only the second time this season - and first since last October - by edging to a 1-0 victory at Alaves.
Petar Vasiljevic claimed his first three-point haul since taking charge of Osasuna in January courtesy of substitute Alex Berenguer's strike with two minutes remaining.
Osasuna had entered the fixture having not won in 21 league attempts and while they remain marooned at the foot of the table and 13 points adrift of safety, they have given themselves a slim chance.
Sporting Gijon missed the chance to close ground on Leganes after losing 1-0 at home to Malaga, who were grateful for Sandro Ramirez's 40th-minute goal.
Celso Borges missed a penalty 13 minutes from time as Deportivo La Coruna settled for a goalless draw with Granada.
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