The day's action, which included a rare win for Athletic Bilbao at Sevilla, was marred by an ugly incident in the late kick-off between Granada and Real Mallorca when a referee's assistant was struck by an object thrown from the crowd.
The match was halted in the 60th minute with Granada winning 2-1 before being called off around 20 minutes later and images in local media suggested the official had sustained a minor cut to his face.
Earlier, second-half goals from Atletico's Portuguese forward Pizzi, Spain Under-21 international Adrian and Brazilian playmaker Diego secured victory over Levante at the Calderon, lifting the erratic Madrid club to ninth on 16 points from 12 matches.
"Atletico is a dangerous team with a lot of talent, but we played a great match against them and I am happy for that, even though we felt we could have got a draw," Levante coach Juan Ignacio Martinez, in his first top-flight coaching job, told a news conference.
"In the second half we were a bit more ambitious but we did not make the most of our equaliser at 1-1," he added.
Real, who host their great rivals in the opening 'Clasico' of the season on December 10, have 31 points from 12 matches, three ahead of Barca.
Sevilla's poor run continued when they lost 2-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao in an earlier kick-off on Sunday, their fifth successive game without a win and the Basque club's first win at the Sanchez Pizjuan in 18 years.
