La Liga leader Atletico Madrid consolidated its title bid by beating third-placed Real Sociedad 2-0 away on Tuesday thanks to second-half goals from Mario Hermoso and Marcos Llorente.

The game failed to live up to its billing in a drab first half, but Atleti broke the deadlock early in the second when defender Hermoso headed home a free-kick from Yannick Carrasco.

The visitor added to its lead with a vicious strike from Llorente after a lay-off from Luis Suarez.

Real Sociedad was boosted by the return of playmaker David Silva from injury but struggled to create much danger and did not manage a shot on target until Atletico keeper Jan Oblak tipped a Martin Merquelanz free-kick around the post late on.