Barcelona move closer to La Liga title, Villarreal seal Champions League spot
Madrid: FC Barcelona moved to the brink of the La Liga title with a tense 2-1 win away to Osasuna.
The win means Barca are 14 points clear of Real Madrid, who travel to RCD Espanyol on Sunday. Should the Madrid fail to win that, Barca will be mathematically confirmed as champions. Should Madrid win, then Barca’s next chance to clinch the trophy will be next weekend, in nothing other than El Clasico.
After struggling to break down a disciplined home side, Barca finally struck in the 81st minute when Robert Lewandowski turned in a Marcus Rashford cross, and Ferran Torres sent in Fermin Lopez’s through ball five minutes later.
Raul Garcia pulled one back with an 88th-minute header, but Barcelona held on and will be crowned champion unless Real Madrid wins away to Espanyol on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
Villarreal secured a Champions League place and edged closer to locking up third spot with a 5-1 home win over Levante that dealt a heavy blow to the visitors’ survival hopes.
Georges Mikautadze capitalized on a weak back pass to open the scoring, and although Carlos Espi equalized in the 51st minute, Alberto Moleiro restored Villarreal’s lead just after the hour. Mikautadze added his second before late goals from Tajon Buchanan and Nicolas Pepe completed the rout.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone rested almost all of his regular starters ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Arsenal, but his side still won 2-0 at Valencia through goals from youngsters Iker Luque and Miguel Cubo. Valencia remains mired in the relegation fight and was booed off by fans.
Athletic Bilbao kept its European push alive with a 4-2 comeback win at Alaves on the day coach Ernesto Valverde took charge of his 500th game. Antonio Blanco and Nahuel Tenaglia twice put the hosts ahead, with Robert Navarro and Oihan Sancet leveling each time before Nico Williams, back in form after pelvic problems, scored twice to seal the win.