Atlético Madrids La Liga title challenge faltered when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday that left Real Madrid three points clear at the top.Barcelona and Real were held to draws at Osasunas El Sadar stadium earlier in the season and Atlético fell behind in the sixth minute when Álvaro Cejudo arrived unmarked at the back post from a corner to volley into the net.An error by the Atlético full-back Juanfran allowed Emiliano Armenteros space to score with a long-range drive in the 21st minute and Roberto Torres nodded in the third three minutes before the break. It was the first time Atlético had conceded three goals in the first half since Diego Simeone took over as coach at the end of 2011.The Argentinian rested several regulars before bringing on the attacking midfielders Koke, Arda Turan and Raúl Garcia in the second half. Diego Costa, who has 21 goals in La Liga this season, toiled up front but a typically gritty defensive performance from Osasuna kept him at bay as the Pamplonese team climbed to 12th on 29 points.Barcelona, Real and Atlético were level on 60 points before the latest round of matches but after Real cruised to a 3-0 win over Elche on Saturday with the help of a Gareth Bale wonder strike, Barça were beaten 3-1 at Real Sociedad as Gerardo Martino also saw a decision to rest key players backfire.Real, who are now unbeaten in 26 matches in all competitions, visit Atlético next Sunday.La LigaOsasunaAtlético MadridEuropean club footballtheguardian © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 23:21:01 +0000
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