admin Atletico Madrid consolidated their fourth place in La Liga with a 2-1 victory over Osasuna on Tuesday while Real Betis beat Elche to guarantee themselves a Champions League spot after a 20-year absence.
Atletico’s English forward Ademola Lookman opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 15th minute after Javi Galan was carded for handball.
Alexander Sorloth made it two with 20 minutes to play, the Norwegian heading in from close range past Aitor Fernandez.
The only blot on Atletico’s copybook up until then was a red card for Marcos Llorente for two bad fouls.
Kike Barja made the game tighter than it should have been at the end with an injury-time strike to pull a goal back for Osasuna.
But Atletico held on for a result that leaves the Madrid side fourth on 66 points behind newly-crowned champions Barcelona (91pts), Real Madrid (77) and Villarreal (69), all three with a game in hand.
Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth (centre) celebrates with team-mates after scoring a goal against Osasuna during their match on Tuesday. Agence France-Presse
At the other end of the table, Levante climbed out of the bottom three after twice coming back from behind to win 3-2 at Celta Vigo who lost ground in the race for a Champions League spot.
They are one of five clubs on 39 points hovering around the relegation zone, including Elche who were beaten 2-1 at Real Betis, and Espanyol who host Sevilla on Thursday.
Real Betis’ win means that they qualified for next season’s Champions League by finishing at least fifth. They currently have 57pts, now seven ahead of sixth-placed Celta Vigo.
It will be Real Betis’ first foray into the elite European competition since the 2005-06 season.
Cucho Hernandez put Betis ahead in the ninth minute and Pablo Fornals scored the winner in the 68th after Hector Fort had equalized for Elche shortly before halftime.
Mbappe can show commitment to Real, says Arbeloa: Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa called on French striker Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday to show “his commitment” to the team in the last three matches of the season.
Mbappe has faced criticism from the club’s own fans in recent weeks, in part for going on holiday to Sardinia during his recovery from a thigh injury.
The forward missed Madrid’s Clasico defeat by Barcelona on Sunday which confirmed the Catalan giants as La Liga champions for a second season running and ensured Los Blancos finish the season empty-handed.
“If he’s there and can complete the training session and is available, then he’ll definitely get some minutes… and the chance in these three games to keep showing the commitment he has to the club,” Arbeloa told reporters.
The Spanish coach said he hopes top scorer Mbappe can play and keep “scoring goals, showing, as I’ve said, the commitment he has to Real Madrid and that, as a coach but above all as a Madridista, is what I’d like to see”.
Arbeloa said he believes France captain Mbappe has given 100 percent to the team, ahead of Thursday’s La Liga match against relegated Real Oviedo.
Mbappe is likely to be the target of whistles from Madrid supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“All my players (have), I couldn’t think otherwise, I couldn’t believe that a Real Madrid player doesn’t give absolutely everything he has for the club, because then he wouldn’t know where he is,” said Arbeloa.
Agencies
