levante beat toppers 2-0; makes it three-way battle with Real & Barcelona back in fray
Atletico Madrid's march to the Spanish league title hit a bump when it lost 2-0 at levante on Sunday, meaning it must win its remaining two games to clinch the title for the first time since 1996.levante pressed early and was rewarded when Papakouly Diop's corner kick hit Atletico left back Filipe luis in the chest. The ball bounced out of reach of scrambling goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois before settling into the net in the seventh minute.
Atletico improved with substitutes Arda Turan and Adrian lopez after halftime but conceded again when striker David Barral beat Courtois in the 69th.Atletico's first loss in 10 rounds left it three points ahead of Barcelona, which hosts Atletico on the season's last day.Real Madrid trails Atletico by six points but has two more games to play.Madrid hosts Valencia later Sunday and travels to Valladolid on Wednesday. Atletico holds the head-to-head goal advantage over Madrid, giving Diego Simeone's team the tiebreaker if the two sides - set to meet in the Champions league final on May 24 - also finish level on points in la liga.
But this stumble throws open the race once again for all three sides, despite Barcelona's coach and players saying their title defense had been scuttled by their 2-2 draw with Getafe on Saturday.The already exciting season finale has taken another twist that gives all three challengers options to lift the trophy.Atletico's path to its first domestic league crown in 18 years now lies through wins at home over Malaga and then at Camp Nou. There is no room for error. Another slip would open the door to crosstown rival Madrid or defending champion Barcelona.
The large contingent of fans who traveled with Atletico from the Spanish capital were left disappointed, but they still applauded their squad after the final whistle at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium.Four days after its commanding 3-1 victory at Chelsea to reach the final of the Champions league, Atletico was brought down by the modest levante side that has outperformed expectations thanks to coach Joaquin Caparros' defensive focus. Goalkeeping Keylor Navas again played a key role as levante was left in the middle of the table.
"We didn't want to mess up a title for anyone, I hope they (Atletico) win it," Barral said. "We want to finish the league in the best fashion we can. Playing teams like Atletico or Barcelona is always motivating, we wanted to win it for ourselves."Elsewhere, Ramon Azeez's last-gasp goal gave 10-man Almeria a 3-2 win at home over relegated Real Betis to help pull his team out of the drop zone.Almeria climbed to one point above the relegation zone, pushing Osasuna down to join Valladolid as the other two teams currently in danger to join Betis in the second division next season.
uventus win title Rome: Juventus clinched third third straight and 30th overall Serie A title Sunday without even playing.With second-place Roma losing 4-1 at Catania, Juventus' eight-point lead became insurmountable because Roma only has two matches remaining.Juventus, which has three games to play, can celebrate when it hosts Atalanta on Monday although the Turin squad's players and coach Antonio Conte were already seen celebrating outside their team hotel wearing championship T-shirts.
"It's much more satisfying when you win on the pitch. But it's still very gratifying,"Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon said.The title was a bit of a consolation for Juventus after it was eliminated from the Europa league semifinals by Benfica on Thursday - missing out on the final in its home stadium."I was sleeping, resting up for tomorrow's match," said striker Carlos Tevez, who leads Juve with 19 goals in 31 matches, on Sky TV. "But my teammates woke me up and there was a lot of excitement. Although I was hoping to celebrate the title before our fans tomorrow."
In Sicily, Mariano Izco scored for Catania in the 26th and 34th minutes. Gonzalo Bergessio also netted for the hosts in the 55th after Roma captain Francesco Totti pulled one back in the 37th. Then Pablo Barrientos added another for Catania in the 79th.The loss ended Roma's nine-match winning streak, and the Giallorossi put up little resistance against a Catania side fighting to avoid relegation.Roma, which had already clinched second place and the last direct Champions league berth, was hoping to keep the title race open until next weekend when it hosts Juve. However, Roma coach Rudi Garcia said Saturday the title race was over and complimented Juve on its near-perfect season.