Sports

Atletico loss leaves Barca close to title

April 20, 2018
Real Sociedad’s forward Juanmi (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring during the Spanish Primera Division soccer match against Atletico Madrid at Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday. — EPA
Real Sociedad’s forward Juanmi (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring during the Spanish Primera Division soccer match against Atletico Madrid at Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday. — EPA

MADRID — Atletico Madrid slumped to a 3-0 defeat at resurgent Real Sociedad on Thursday which means Barcelona need one more victory to wrap up a 25th Spanish La Liga title while Malaga was relegated after losing 1-0 at Levante.

Second-placed Atletico was outplayed by Sociedad from start to finish and fell behind in the 27th minute to a thumping strike off the post from forward Willian Jose after a cut-back from former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj.

The Basque side has been on a good run of form since Imanol Alguacil succeeded sacked coach Eusebio Sacristan and it welcomed Atletico after hammering Girona 5-0 and winning 1-0 at Las Palmas in its last two games.

It continued to create chances against Atletico, which was missing striker Diego Costa through injury, and sealed a deserved victory when forward Juanmi knocked in a pass from Willian Jose in the 80th minute.

Juanmi struck again in stoppage-time to complete Atletico’s heaviest league defeat this season, sending Real Sociedad up to 11th in the standings.

Second-placed Atletico has 71 points after 33 games while Barca has 83 and third-placed Real Madrid 68. Barca, which drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo Tuesday and is still unbeaten in the league, will clinch the title if it wins its next league game away to Deportivo La Coruna on April 29.

“We need to analyze what has happened and take steps to improve in our final few games because recently we have suffered a lot away from home,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone, whose side has lost three of its last four away games in all competitions.

Basement club Malaga dropped out of La Liga for the first time in a decade after losing 1-0 at Levante, conceding the decisive goal deep in stoppage-time when Emmanuel Boateng stabbed home from close range to take his side seven points clear of the drop zone with five games remaining.

Las Palmas are on the verge of being relegated after losing 1-0 at Real Betis.

Chelsea closes gap on Spurs

Victor Moses struck a 69th-minute winner for Chelsea to give Antonio Conte’s side a 2-1 Premier League victory over Burnley at Turf Moor Thursday, closing the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea trail Spurs by five points with just four games remaining but the win kept alive their slim hopes of a late push for the final Champions League slot.

Chelsea had taken a 20th-minute lead through a Kevin Long own goal.

The Londoners were well in control of the game, making effective use of two target strikers in Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud after Conte opted to start with Eden Hazard on the bench ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.

Against the run of play, Burnley drew level in the 64th minute, when Johann Berg Gudmundsson cut in from the right and his low drive went in off teammate Ashley Barnes and beat the wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois.

But the Blues responded perfectly five minutes later when a cross from the left from Emerson reached Moses at the back post and he took his time before firing past Nick Pope.

The loss ended Burnley’s five-match winning streak but Sean Dyche’s side remained seventh in the table and with a chance of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.

Meanwhile, Southampton remained deep in relegation trouble after it was held to a 0-0 draw at a lackluster Leicester City.

Leicester, managed by former Southampton boss Claude Puel, has now gone five home matches without a win but the Saints produced little to scare them.

Southampton, in 18th place, is four points away from safety with four games remaining and face Chelsea Sunday in the FA semifinals. — Agencies


April 20, 2018
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