Luis Suarez scored a dramatic late winner as Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat Osasuna and keep the title race in their own hands.
Atleti knew only maximum points would keep them above Real Madrid if Los Blancos won at Athletic Bilbao thanks to the head-to-head rule, but Diego Simeone’s side left it incredibly late, scoring twice in the last eight minutes to clinch a huge victory.
The hosts had suffered rotten luck in front of goal on what had been a largely frustrating evening, with Suarez hitting the post from point-blank range, and he also had a number of efforts saved by the inspired visiting shot-stopper Sergio Herrera.
The woodwork shook for the second time in the opening 45 minutes when Saul Niguez’s superb shot from distance crashed off the outside of the post on the stroke of half-time.
Atleti thought they had finally broken the deadlock just shy of the hour-mark when Stefan Savic side-footed home from Kieran Trippier’s free-kick delivery, but, after a VAR check, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Yannick Carrasco also had the ball in the back of the net minutes later but he was clearly offside.
And then came the real body blow. Ante Budimir’s bullet header from Ruben Garcia’s cross was clawed out by Jan Oblak but a VAR check showed the ball was behind the line, as Osasuna took the lead against the run of play in the 76th minute.
However, the hosts staged a late rally with Renan Lodi restoring parity in the 82nd-minute after being released by fellow substitute Joao Felix and yet there was more drama to come six minutes later when Suarez struck the winner from Carrasco’s pull-back to spark wild celebrations.
Los Blancos’ 1-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao sets up a dramatic final day, but Atleti’s late heroics means that if they win at Valladolid the title is theirs.
Source: Eurosport