The hopes of the Spanish title of Atletico Madrid disappeared with a 1-1 disappointing draw in Espanyol on Saturday at La Liga. Javi Puado obtained a point from the Catalan team with a penalty after Cesar Azpilicueta put the visitors forward, leaving the six points of Rojiblancos behind the League League leaders despite an additional match. Barcelona welcomes Girona on Sunday in a Catalan derby, while Real Madrid, second and three points ahead of Atletico, welcome to Leganes later on Saturday. “Two points have escaped, two important, I don’t know why it happens to us,” said Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, Movistar.
“If we have no consistency, we cannot fight for the title.
“We don’t have it, we lose points and I think the teams behind caught up their delay.”
Simeone admitted that his team did not deserve the three points.
“It was a flat match in which the draw was fair,” the trainer told journalists, although he said that he was not throwing in the towel.
“I say that the leagues have been decided in the past five weeks … Until then you don’t know.”
After defeating Atletico 4-2 during their previous high-flying outing, before the international break, Diego Simeone’s team knew that they could not afford to lose more land in the title race.
‘A delicate point’
Simeone put Julian Alvarez and Rodrigo de Paul on the bench after having appeared in the middle of the week for Argentina against Brazil in the qualifications of the South American World Cup.
International Uruguaye Jose Gimenez also started on the bench, but it was necessary to replace Robin the Normand halfway from the first half after a head confrontation.
The Espanyol, fighting against relegation and temporarily 15th, fought with one side of the Atletico which played in themselves.
Marcos Llorente had an early goal for offside, but Atletico failed to create other chances until Azpilicueta has castigated visitors at a distance.
It was his first goal for three years and also his first for Atletico Madrid, but it was worth waiting because he struck a sumptuous volley in the upper corner after the cross of Antoine Griezmann was cleaned by the box.
Conor Gallagher got closer before the break and Alexander Sorho resulted in a wide shot from the post while Atletico was looking for a second.
The Espanyol of Manolo Gonzalez had created little danger but had found a level of file when Clement Lenglet openly pulled the Leandro shirt fuck in the box.
Puado struck the resulting penalty in the upper corner in front of Oblak’s tense arm after 71 minutes.
Alvarez, from the bench, struck the side coast while the chronometer descended on the ambitions of Atletico, with Joan Garcia saving from a head of Griezmann to death.
Eliminated from the Champions League by the Rivaux of Real Madrid, the last realistic hope of Simeone de Simone is in the Copa del Rey, where they will face Barcelona in the semi-finals at the second stage on Wednesday.
Espanyol is now two points above the relegation area.
“This is a good point against a side that fights for the title … We had a delicate point, a good, and we are doing well,” said the goals of Puado.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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