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E-mail Xinhua, March 10, 2025
Atletico Madrid missed the chance to go top of La Liga on Sunday lunchtime, surrendering a 1-0 lead and losing 2-1 away to Getafe.
Atletico began the day one point behind FC Barcelona, whose home match against Osasuna was postponed on Saturday night. It looked as if Atletico would secure all three points when Alexander Sorloth opened the scoring with a 75th-minute penalty.
Atletico had struggled against a rival that offered far more resistance than in its recent 5-0 Copa del Rey defeat, but was awarded a penalty when the ball rebounded onto the arm of defender Omar Alderete, who could do nothing to avoid the contact.
Angel Correa's high challenge in the 87th minute reduced Atletico to 10 men. Moments later, Mauro Arambarri scrambled the ball home for a 1-1 equalizer. Arambarri reacted again in the 92nd minute, deflecting Diego Rico's shot past Jan Oblak. After a VAR check, the winning goal was confirmed.
Excellent goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr in the 30th and 34th minutes put Real Madrid 2-0 up at home to Rayo Vallecano. Pedro Diaz gave the visitors hope on the stroke of halftime, his shot crossing the line to make it 2-1.
The second half was uneventful, with Real Madrid content to concede possession to Rayo. Although Rayo saw much more of the ball, it failed to create clear chances to draw level.
The 2-1 win lifts Real Madrid above Atletico in the standings, just ahead of next Wednesday's decisive Champions League return leg between the two sides.
Athletic Bilbao remains fourth after a 1-1 draw at home to Mallorca. Betis won 1-0 at home to Las Palmas, leaving Las Palmas second-from-bottom and putting coach Diego Martinez on the verge of dismissal.
Chidera Ejuke produced an excellent individual goal in the 45th minute, giving Sevilla a 1-0 victory away to Real Sociedad, which played well below its usual standards.
In Saturday's matches, Celta Vigo won 2-1 at home to Leganes, and Valencia claimed a vital 2-1 victory over Valladolid, with Diego Lopez and Umar Sadiq scoring the goals.
FC Barcelona's La Liga home game against Osasuna, originally scheduled for Saturday night, was postponed after a member of the FC Barcelona medical team died during the afternoon.
