Monday 9 May 2016 09:29, UK
The La Liga title race will go to the final day after Barcelona and Real Madrid both won on Sunday, but Atletico Madrid's challenge is over.
The penultimate round of fixtures began with Barca and Atletico level on 85 points at the top with Real just a point behind, but Luis Enrique's men could have clinched a sixth La Liga crown in eight years if results had gone their way, due to their superior head-to-head record over both capital clubs this term.
Barca did their job, thrashing city rivals Espanyol 5-0, but Real Madrid ensured the champagne would remain on ice at the Nou Camp by beating Valencia 3-2 to record their 11th successive La Liga win.
That means defending champions Barca will go into their final match at Granada still boasting a one-point lead over bitter rivals Real, who travel to Deportivo La Coruna.
However, Atletico - who will face Real in the Champions League final later this month - are now out of it after they were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at relegated Levante.
Fernando Torres gave Atletico an early lead but Victor's equaliser and Giuseppe Rossi's late breakaway goal at the Ciutat de Valencia means 2014 champions Atletico now cannot overhaul Barca.
For Barca, the result never looked in doubt. Lionel Messi's eighth-minute free-kick was all that separated the teams at the break, but a brace from Luis Suarez plus strikes from Rafinha and Neymar in the second half ensured Barca of an eighth successive derby win at the Nou Camp - with a combined 26-2 scoreline.
Real also picked up three points, but had a much tougher time of it against Valencia. Two Cristiano Ronaldo goals either side of a Karim Benzema strike earned Zinedine Zidane's men the win, but they were made to sweat by strikes from Rodrigo - who was sent off late on - and Andre Gomes.
At the other end of the table, three teams are left battling to avoid joining Levante in going down - Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Sporting Gijon.
Rayo dropped into the bottom two after losing 2-1 at Real Sociedad. Strikes from Mikel Oyarzabal and Jon Bautista put Sociedad in charge and although Javi Guerra pulled a goal back and the hosts lost Esteban Granero to a red card, it was not enough to save Rayo from suffering a third successive defeat.
They are now a point behind Getafe and Sporting, who shared a 1-1 draw in the capital. Sporting took a 50th-minute lead through Sergio Alvarez but saw Nacho Cases dismissed shortly afterwards and Getafe salvaged a potentially crucial point through Stefan Scepovic 10 minutes from time.
Granada did manage to secure La Liga survival on Sunday, though, after claiming an impressive 4-1 victory at Sevilla - their third win in four games.
Sevilla were much-changed after reaching the Europa League final in midweek and although they cancelled out Isaac Cuenca's opener through debutant Diego Gonzalez's 74th-minute equaliser, Granada struck three times late on through Jean-Sylvain Babin, Youssef El Arabi (penalty) and Cuenca to claim a decisive win.
Also assuring themselves of top-flight football next season were Deportivo, who were 2-0 winners at fourth-placed Villarreal thanks to Faycal Fajr and Lucas Perez goals.
Elsewhere, Celta and Athletic Bilbao assured themselves of top-six finishes. Star striker Nolito netted the only goal as Celta beat Malaga 1-0 to climb into fifth spot ahead of Athletic, who were held 0-0 at Las Palmas.
Sunday's other match saw mid-table rivals Eibar and Real Betis share a 1-1 draw at Estadio Municipal de Ipurua, the visitors taking the lead through Ruben Castro before the Basque side levelled through Sergi Enrich.
