European Football Round-Up: Atletico Win Late To Stay Top Ahead Of Final Day

The Spanish league title will be decided on the last day of the season
12:13, 17 May 2021

The race for the title in La Liga will be decided on the final day, while Juventus go into their last game of the season with a fighting chance of securing a Champions League spot. This weekend’s European action decided a few things but also ensured there will be drama still to come in the continent’s season finale.

La Liga

Atletico Madrid dramatically left it late to come from behind against Osasuna as they stayed in the driving seat in the Spanish title race with one game to go. When the visitors took a shock lead 15 minutes from time it appeared as though Los Colchoneros might be about to squander a shot at a first league championship in seven years. But Renan Lodi equalised with eight minutes remaining and Luis Suarez bagged a priceless winner two minutes from the end.

That result keeps Real Madrid in second place, two points behind their neighbours, despite a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao courtesy of a Nacho goal midway through the second half. Atleti’s win meant that Barcelona were out of the title running regardless of their 2-1 home defeat to Celta Vigo, leaving the two Madrid sides to fight it out on the final weekend, with Atleti travelling to Real Valladolid while Zinedine Zidane’s reigning champions host Villarreal in what could be the Frenchman’s final game in charge of the club.

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Serie A

Newly-crowned champions Inter lost for the first time since January in Serie A as Juventus kept alive their hopes of sneaking into the top four with a breathless 3-2 win at the Allianz Stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo netted once and Juan Cuadrado grabbed his first two goals of the season as Andrea Pirlo’s side retained some hope of Champions League football next term. Inter equalised twice through Romelu Lukaku and a Giorgio Chiellini own goal in a game which featured three penalties and two sendings-off, but Cuadrado settled it from the spot with just two minutes remaining.

Napoli’s 2-0 win at Fiorentina was a blow to Juve, but Milan drew 0-0 at home to Cagliari, leaving both the Rossoneri and Napoli just a point clear of the fifth-placed Bianconeri going into the final round of fixtures.

Bundesliga

Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund claimed the final two places in the Champions League in Germany by registering the results they both needed following Eintracht Frankfurt’s 4-3 loss to Schalke on Saturday.

The pair went into their Sunday fixtures knowing a Dortmund win and a Wolfsburg draw would see them both secure top-four positions and both results duly followed. BVB recorded a 3-1 win at Mainz, with Raphael Guerreiro, Marco Reus and Julian Brandt finding the net, while Wolfsburg grabbed a 2-2 draw away to second-placed RB Leipzig.

The attention on the final weekend will turn to the bottom of the table, where FC Koln, Werder Bremen and Arminia Bielefeld are all separated by two points with one relegation place and a play-off spot still to be decided between the three teams.

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Ligue 1

Lille spurned the chance to potentially wrap up the French title, and Paris Saint-Germain took the race to the final day as a result as Mauricio Pochettino wiped the floor with Reims at the Parc des Princes.

Lille’s 0-0 draw with Saint-Etienne meant that only a PSG defeat would have put the Parisiens out of sight, but Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Marquinhos and Moise Kean all scored in a comfortable 4-0 win in the capital.

Christophe Galtier’s side head to Angers on Sunday needing a win to be certain of the title, with PSG going to Brest needing to better Lille’s result. Monaco visit Lens knowing that only defeats for both Lille and PSG would give them a chance of snatching the crown.

Eredivisie

PSV registered the 1-1 draw they needed away to Utrecht to clinch the second Champions League slot behind champions Ajax. They held off AZ, who were hoping for a 10-goal swing to snatch second place and fulfilled their half of the bargain by thrashing Heracles 5-0.

Marco van Ginkel’s equaliser after Utrecht had taken the lead through Sander van de Streek ensured that Champions League football will be played in Eindhoven in 2021-22.

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