La Liga round-up: 10-man Atletico Madrid edge Alaves as Barcelona win title
Sunday 29 April 2018 22:35, UK
Atletico Madrid edged to a 1-0 win against Alaves in La Liga on Sunday, maintaining their four-point lead in second place over Real Madrid.
They left it late though, with Kevin Gameiro scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after Mubarak Wakaso was adjudged to have handled.
It was the second penalty Wakaso had given away in less than 10 minutes, with a foul on Vitolo prompting the referee to point to the spot in the 71st minute only for stand-in keeper Fernando Pacheco to deny Fernando Torres.
Atletico will certainly feel they fully merited the three points, with Vitolo also hitting a post, although the match finished on a sour note for the visitors with Angel Correa's sending-off.
The result restored Atletico's four-point lead over their city rivals Real after their win against Leganes on Saturday.
Barca went into the match knowing a point would be enough to see them regain the trophy with four matches still to play.
They did not have things all their own way against a spirited Depor, who fought back to level through Lucas Perez and Emre Colak after Philippe Coutinho and Messi had put Barca two up.
Depor were forced to push forward knowing only victory would be enough to keep their survival hopes alive and they paid the price as Messi added two late goals to complete his hat-trick.
Ten-man Getafe spurned the chance to claim victory over Girona following Jorge Molina's second-half penalty miss at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
The hosts were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw despite seeing Damian Suarez dismissed when he conceded a penalty for chopping down Cristhian Stuani.
The forward converted the spot-kick just before the break to cancel out Amath Ndiaye's opener before Molina then missed his own penalty when he struck a post.
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Fourth-placed Valencia were held to a goalless draw at home by Eibar despite 59 per cent possession and 16 attempts on goal.
The result left them four points behind Real having played a game more and still not mathematically certain of a place in the top four.
