MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid relinquished a two-goal lead in its 4-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish league on Sunday in another setback for the club after it was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Playing at the Metropolitano stadium four days after it lost to Madrid in a penalty shootout, Atletico led Barcelona 2-0 at halftime but conceded a pair of stoppage-time goals to waste a chance to overtake the Catalan club for second place and move within a point of Madrid.
“It was a weird game, we did well in the first half and had the game under control after scoring twice,” Atletico player Marcos Llorente said. “I do think that the 120 minutes that we had to play in the Champions League made a difference, there was a letdown in the end.”
The defeat left third-placed Atletico four points behind its two rivals at the top of the league on 60 points each, with Barcelona having a game in hand. Madrid won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday.
Lamine Yamal scored two minutes into stoppage time and Ferran Torres six minutes later to give Barcelona the gritty come-from-behind victory.
“It’s a statement win for us, allowing us to regain the lead with a game in hand,” Yamal said.
Julián Álvarez had put Atletico ahead after a breakaway just before halftime. It had been an unusual double touch by Álvarez in the penalty shootout against Madrid that led to Atletico's elimination from the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atletico added to the lead with a goal by substitute Alexander Sorloth from inside the area in the 70th. Robert Lewandowski, the league's leading scorer, gave Barcelona hope by finding the net in the 72nd, and Torres equalized with a header after a cross by Raphinha in the 78th.
“We have to congratulate them,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “There was a bit of luck, which you must have sometimes. We had a few chances in counterattacks but didn’t take advantage of them. Barcelona is a great team."
Atletico beat Barcelona 2-1 when the teams met in Barcelona in their first Spanish league match of the season in December. They drew 4-4 in a first-leg match in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey last month. The second leg is in April.
Athletic set for Champions League place
Athletic Bilbao solidified its fourth place with a 1-0 win at Sevilla.
Yeray Álvarez scored with a header in the 84th to give Athletic the away victory and an eight-point gap to fifth-placed Villarreal, which has a game in hand.
It was Athletic's second win in a row after three straight matches without a victory across all tournaments. It came off a 3-1 win over Roma to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Real Betis rallies
Sixth-placed Real Betis rallied from two goals down at halftime to win 3-2 at relegation-threatened Leganes, with Cucho Hernández scoring the winner in the 82nd.
The hosts had taken the lead with Dani Raba scoring in the 29th and 44th before Betis equalized through Isco in the 64th and Cédric Bakambu in the 78th.
It was the third straight victory for Betis in all competitions, and the second loss in a row for 18th-placed Leganes.
Also Sunday, ninth-placed Rayo Vallecano drew 2-2 at home with 12th-placed Real Sociedad, which is winless in six consecutive games in all competitions. Rayo is winless in five straight league matches.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
