Spain: Atletico Madrid go top of La Liga
Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's rare slip-up as they pummeled Real Sociedad 4-0 on Sunday to take sole possession of the lead in the Spanish La Liga for the first time this season.
Atletico, whose goals were scored by David Villa, Diego Costa, Miranda and new signing Diego, opened up a three-point lead at the summit after Barcelona lost 3-2 to Valencia on Saturday.
The thumping victory on an emotional night for the Atletico faithful, who paid tribute to club great and former Spain coach Luis Aragones before kickoff following his death at the weekend, also put them three clear of Real Madrid after their neighbours draw at Athletic Bilbao.
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Real Madrid also slipped up and were held to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday when top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off after clashing with Carlos Gurpegui and Ander Iturraspe.
Jese lunged to guide Ronaldo's cross into the area beyond goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz for the 65th-minute opener in a game that was dominated by Bilbao up to that point.
Gomez made up for earlier misses by Aritz Aduritz and Ander Herrera when he ran onto a cleared ball outside the area to rip an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Diego Lopez in the 73rd.
The intensity boiled over moments later when Ronaldo and Gurpegi tangled, the Ballon d'Or winner's straight red card means he will miss Madrid's next game.
The stage is set for Atletico to inflict more Cup pain on their detested neighbours, who they beat 2-1 in last year's final held at Real's own Bernabeu stadium.
It was the first time they had got the better of Real in 14 years in any competition and they built on that success with a 1-0 La Liga win, again at the Bernabeu, at the end of September.
"This is something nice for the players, who have made such effort and go into every single game with the same intensity and work ethic," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said.
Atletico leads with 57 points, while Barcelona and Madrid share 54 points.
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Atletico, whose goals were scored by David Villa, Diego Costa, Miranda and new signing Diego, opened up a three-point lead at the summit after Barcelona lost 3-2 to Valencia on Saturday.
The thumping victory on an emotional night for the Atletico faithful, who paid tribute to club great and former Spain coach Luis Aragones before kickoff following his death at the weekend, also put them three clear of Real Madrid after their neighbours draw at Athletic Bilbao.
Buy Spanish La Liga tickets such as Real Madrid tickets, Barcelona football tickets and Atletico Madrid tickets securely online now!!
Real Madrid also slipped up and were held to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday when top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off after clashing with Carlos Gurpegui and Ander Iturraspe.
Jese lunged to guide Ronaldo's cross into the area beyond goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz for the 65th-minute opener in a game that was dominated by Bilbao up to that point.
Gomez made up for earlier misses by Aritz Aduritz and Ander Herrera when he ran onto a cleared ball outside the area to rip an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Diego Lopez in the 73rd.
The intensity boiled over moments later when Ronaldo and Gurpegi tangled, the Ballon d'Or winner's straight red card means he will miss Madrid's next game.
The stage is set for Atletico to inflict more Cup pain on their detested neighbours, who they beat 2-1 in last year's final held at Real's own Bernabeu stadium.
It was the first time they had got the better of Real in 14 years in any competition and they built on that success with a 1-0 La Liga win, again at the Bernabeu, at the end of September.
"This is something nice for the players, who have made such effort and go into every single game with the same intensity and work ethic," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said.
Atletico leads with 57 points, while Barcelona and Madrid share 54 points.
About 1st4FootballTickets.com: Thousands of football tickets are on sale on Europe's biggest football ticketing website: We have Champions League tickets such as Champions League: Manchester City vs Barcelona tickets, AC Milan vs Atletico Madrid tickets and tickets for Real Madrid vs Schalke. But also other football cup tickets such as UEFA Europa League tickets and the FA Cup tickets.
