Atletico Madrid pull level with Barcelona, qualify for Champions League
May 12th 2008 10:04
Atletico captain Maxi Rodriguez is proud after his side secured a place in Europe's elite club competiton
Diego Forlan scored as Atletico Madrid edged Deportivo, 1-0, to pull even in points with third-place Barcelona, who blew a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Mallorca on Sunday in the Spanish La Liga.
Atletico and Barcelona both have 64 points with one match to play. Sevilla is just three points back after a 2-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday. The scenario means Barcelona could - although it's very unlikely - drop all the way down to fifth if it loses next week.
Third and fourth place qualify for the Champions League, and fifth place drops to the UEFA Cup. Atletico and Barcelona need a point or would require Sevilla not to win next week to secure Champions League spots. None of the three clubs can finish worse than fifth.
Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o scored to give Barcelona a two-goal advantage, but Borja Valero, Pierre Webo and Daniel Guiza scored in the final 23 minutes - the last in the 90th minute.
Guiza's goal was his 26th of the season and now leads the goal scoring charts in La Liga. Brazilian and Sevilla forward Luis Fabiano scored his 24th goal of the season to lead Sevilla to a win over Real Betis.
Real Madrid settled for a 2-2 draw with Real Zaragoza, who dropped into the last relegation spot with one game to play.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robinho scored Real Madrid's goals. Sergio scored in the 86th to help Zaragoza earn one point. Zaragoza is one point behind Recreativo and Osasuna and two behind Real Valladolid entering the final week.
Osasuna edged Real Murcia 2-1 and Recreativo defeated Almeria 2-0 to move past Zaragoza. Real Valladolid tied Getafe 0-0.
Valencia beat Levante 5-1 to secure its survival from relegation while rivals Villarreal defeated Espanyol 2-0 and Atletico Bilbao tied Racing 0-0 in the league's other games.
Racing is still sixth and holds the final UEFA cup berth, but Mallorca is just one point behind.
Next week, Valencia hosts Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid hosts Levante, Mallorca hosts Real Zaragoza, Real Murcia hosts Barcelona, Getafe hosts Real Betis, Racing hosts Osasuna, Recreativo hosts Real Valladolid, Sevilla hosts Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol hosts Almeria and Deportivo hosts Villarreal to round out the La Liga season where Real Madrid will be officially crowned champions.
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