Barca received a major boost in the La Liga title race, as rivals Atletico Madrid were beaten by Athletic Club. The Rojiblancos could end up losing the top spot, should the Blaugrana win their game in hand.
The La Liga title race is expected to go down to the wire, with the top four clubs now separated by just three points. League leaders Atletico Madrid received a massive blow to their title-winning hopes as they lost to Athletic Club on Sunday night. As a result, Barcelona can leapfrog the Rojiblancos into the top spot should they win their game in hand.
Despite stumbling in recent months, Atletico Madrid strengthened their position at the top of the table with two consecutive wins against Eibar and Huesca. Diego Simeone’s men took advantage of slip-ups by both Real Madrid and Barcelona to open up a decent lead at the top. They were looking to maintain their recent run of positive results when they took on Marcelino’s Athletic.
However, much to the chagrin of Simeone and Co, Athletic Club took the lead. In the eighth minute of the match, Alex Berenguer converted an Ander Capa cross to make it 1-0 to the home side. Both teams came close to scoring the next goal of the match before half-time. Yannick Carrasco tested Unai Simon with a header, while Asier Villalibre saw his effort saved by Jan Oblak.
After struggling to break down the Athletic defence for more than two-thirds of the match, Atletico Madrid finally had their equalizer. Stefan Savic rose highest to head the ball past Simon, following a corner. However, Atletico’s lead did not last long. Simeone’s men were given a taste of their own medicine as Inigo Martinez headed past Oblak from a corner. They held onto the lead for the remainder of the match to hand Atletico their fourth loss of the season.
Atletico remain first in the league at the moment with 73 points in the bag. However, they could be overtaken by Barcelona, who are just two points behind with a game in hand. Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are also set to play each other on May 8 in a tie that could potentially decide the title.
