MADRID — Antoine Griezmann’s second-half strike was enough for under-par Atletico Madrid to beat Espanyol 1-0 Saturday, tightening its grip on third place in La Liga.
The Frenchman scored with a left-footed volley in the 73rd minute after Saul Niguez’s shot was deflected into his path, extending Atletico’s unbeaten record to 12 games.
Atletico’s Yannick Carrasco had forced a smart save from goalkeeper Diego Lopez as the visitors made the early running, though it was the Catalans who enjoyed the lion’s share of possession during the first half without ever threatening.
After the break Pablo Piatti had a shot cleared off the line by Atletico defender Stefan Savic before the visitors went close through substitute Kevin Gameiro.
After Griezmann had put his side ahead, former Atletico striker Leo Baptistao was denied one-on-one by keeper Jan Oblak as Espanyol sought an immediate riposte, while Gerard Moreno put a header wide late on.
Diego Simeone’s side sits three points ahead of fourth-placed Sevilla on 68 points, while Espanyol remain ninth with 49.
Sporting Gijon lost ground in its bid to escape the relegation zone, requiring two late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw against bottom-of-the-table Osasuna.
Sporting is four points behind fourth-from-bottom Leganes, who lost 2-1 to Villarreal, with five games to play while Osasuna is nine points from safety.
Cavani puts PSG on top
Striker Edinson Cavani scored his 44th goal of the season and created the second goal as Paris Saint-Germain beat Montpellier 2-0 to go top of the French league Saturday.
Cavani thumped home a cross from midfielder Blaise Matuidi in the first half, with winger Angel Di Maria involved in the buildup. It took Cavani’s career-best tally to 31 league goals and he thought he had another later in the half, but his powerful header was ruled out for offside.
Three minutes after the break, Cavani back-heeled to Di Maria, who curled in from just outside the penalty area for his fifth goal in five games.
Defending champion PSG is three points ahead of Monaco, which has led for most of the season.
Monaco has played two games less and can return to the top on goal difference by winning at Lyon Sunday.
Both sides are doing well in Europe.
Monaco reached the Champions League semifinals and Lyon got through to the last four of the Europa League this week.
PSG has won eight straight games in all competitions to keep the pressure on Monaco. They meet each other Wednesday in the French Cup semifinals. PSG then faces a tough away trip at third-place Nice next weekend as the hard-fought title race heats up.
Bordeaux beat last-place Bastia 2-0 at home to move up to fourth spot, with striker Malcom getting the first goal.
But Lyon needs only a draw at home to Monaco to regain fourth spot.
After struggling for most of the season, Lorient is suddenly playing like a team near the top.
The Brittany-based side moved out of the relegation zone and up to 16th place after thrashing Metz 5-1 at home for a fourth win in five games.
Elsewhere, striker Yacine Bammou scored both as Nantes beat struggling Caen 2-0.
Two goals from center forward Lois Diony helped Dijon beat Angers 3-2 at home; while Nicolas De Preville scored a brace as Lille beat Guingamp 3-0.
Inter’s Europa hope dented
Mauro Icardi hit a dramatic late brace to complete his hat trick but Inter Milan’s Europa League hopes were dented in a dramatic nine-goal thriller that saw Fiorentina prevail 5-4 in Florence Saturday.
Inter’s third defeat in five-game winless run leaves it in seventh place but, less than a year after its takeover by the Chinese Suning group, its hopes of qualifying for Europe’s second tier competition are now decidedly compromised.
Earlier, Atalanta goalkeeper Etrit Berisha pulled off a pair of late saves as the Bergamo side boosted their Europa League hopes with a precious 3-2 win over Bologna to move up to fourth. — Agencies
