Suarez strike sends Atleti to brink of title, Celta dash Barca hopes

Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title in dramatic circumstances by fighting their way back to beat Osasuna 2-1 at home on Sunday thanks to a late strike from Luis Suarez.

Atletico dominated the game and hit the woodwork twice in the first half before having two goals ruled out for offside but fell behind in the 76th minute when a bullet header from Ante Budimir crossed the line before Jan Oblak could punch it away.

Atletico hit back with an emphatic finish from substitute Renan Lodi in the 82nd minute while top scorer Suarez completed the comeback by firing home from inside the area in the 88th.

Diego Simeone’s side nearly conceded an equaliser deep into added time though when Chimy Avila caught sight of goal but Oblak got across to parry before grabbing the ball with both hands.

The victory took Atletico on to 83 points after 37 games, two ahead of second-placed Real Madrid who won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.

Atletico visit Real Valladolid on the final day of the season next Sunday while Real host Villarreal.

Barcelona saw their hopes of winning La Liga extinguished as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Barca were dominant in the first half and deservedly took the lead through Lionel Messi after 27 minutes in what could be the Argentine’s final game at the Camp Nou given his unresolved contractual situation.

Messi expertly headed Sergio Busquet’s precise cross past Ivan Villar to make it 30 league goals for the season on 27 minutes.

“We hope that won’t be his last game here at the Camp Nou, but it’s a decision he needs to make,” defender Jordi Alba said.

“We were really good in the first half, they didn’t really create much and took their one chance when they got it.

“We had the game under control but in the second half just lost our heads a bit. They play really good football, they made it difficult for us and their second goal is unlucky for us.”

Indeed, Celta equalised against the run of play 11 minutes later as Santi Mina fired in from the edge of the box following a pacey counter-attack to stun the hosts. Defender Ronald Araujo went close with a header after the restart as Barca tried in vain to retake the lead.

However, they found themselves up against it when Clement Lenglet was dismissed with six minutes to play and ultimately paid the price for the Frenchman’s rash decision making.

With just one minute of normal time left, Mina netted his second of the game to condemn the Catalans to at best a third-placed finish in Ronald Koeman’s first season in charge.

Barca are third on 76 points, four behind Real Madrid in second with one game remaining and two ahead of Sevilla in fourth.

Meanwhile, Real ensured the title race will go down to the final weekend as they beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at San Mames thanks to a second-half goal from defender Nacho Fernandez.

The result sees second-placed Real move onto 81 points, two behind city rivals Atletico.

In a first half shorn of clear-cut chances, Real were adamant they should have had a penalty when Alvaro Odriozola’s cross hit Jon Morcillo’s arm, however referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz waved away the protests.

Bilbao almost opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime, however Alex Berenguer’s free kick bounced just wide of Thibaut Courtois’s far post.

Casemiro had a header bounce back off the crossbar shortly after the restart, however the Brazilian midfielder then teed up defender Nacho from close range to give Zinedine Zidane’s side a priceless three points.

Substitute Raul Garcia was sent off late on for the hosts for what appeared to be something he said to the assistant referee.

Reuters