Atlético Madrid celebrate La Liga title after draw at Barcelona (Bercelona 1-1 Alletico Madrid)
Atlético Madrid
players celebrate the 1-1 draw at Barcelona that won them the La Liga
title at the expense of their hosts. Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP
Atlético Madrid
have done it. A year after they went to the Santiago Bernabéu and took
the Copa del Rey from Real Madrid, they came here and took the league
title from FC Barcelona.
It is their first in 18 years. Next they travel to Lisbon to play their
first European Cup final for 40 years. What Diego Simeone and his side
have achieved is barely believable. Barcelona's supporters recognised
the magnitude of what they had witnessed: when the final whistle went
here, they immediately broke into applause.
Spain suffered a collective coronary as the season headed into the final minutes of the final day with a single moment sufficient to change the destiny of the title. Barcelona's goalkeeper, José Pinto, was even up for a corner that almost dropped his way. But in the end Diego Godín's header from a corner was enough to clinch a 1-1 draw that means that for the first time in a decade Spain has a champion that is not Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Simeone's side have taken on the duopoly and defeated it. This is a monumental achievement: not only has it been 10 years since someone else won the title, the nearest anyone has been over the last five years was 24, 39, 25, 28 and 17 points. Atlético finished this season three points ahead. They came into the final game needing at least a draw as for the third time two contenders faced each other on the last day with the title in play.
All season, the question had been asked: could Atlético really win the title? Now, incredibly, they have. They did it the hard way. The clock showed 94.04 when, on the penultimate weekend, Adrian López's shot was turned away by the outstretched hand of Willy Caballero. A goal would have given them the title.
Instead, they had to avoid defeat here. Barcelona, who had given up on the league, had benefited from an extraordinary run of results and now had their fate in their own hands. At home too.
A case could be made for this being, a priori, the biggest Spanish league struggle in history. Here was a chance for Atlético to break up a decade-long duopoly, while setting themselves up for a second European Cup final, and it was the third time that two contenders had come face to face on the final day. In 1946 Sevilla had gone to Barcelona and in 1951 Atlético had gone to Sevilla. Both times a 1-1 draw had clinched the title for the away team.
It was not easy. Atlético lost their top scorer, Diego Costa, in tears in the first half and then Arda Turán departed sadly too. Then, out of nothing, Barcelona had the lead. Cesc Fábregas's clipped pass into the area reached Lionel Messi, whose chest-pass found Alexis Seanchez.
The Chilean caught the ball as it bounced up and thumped a shot of implausible power and precision that rocketed past Thibaut Courtois and into the top corner by the near post. Classic Atlético, some concluded. Maybe that jinx had not been definitively laid to rest, after all.
Perhaps not. This was the first time Barcelona had taken the lead in the five meetings between them this season and momentarily, it felt like the end. Barcelona would exercise control while Atlético could not fail to be crushed by the misfortune.
Barely an inch away six days ago, now they had lost two men and trailed by a goal that was a lightning bolt with no sign of the storm.
Atlético, though, responded; there is heart in this team and lots of it. There is head too. The intelligence with which they play is too often overlooked. In the final minutes of the half Atlético pushed Barcelona back, swift into tackles, quick to move the ball and accurate with it.
With every delivery into the area, there were nerves. José Pinto is a goalkeeper who makes saves, but not one who inspires confidence.
One corner squirmed from his hands and led to another as the pressure built. The first had come when Dani Alves had to intervene with Adrián arriving at the far post. Raul García's shot was then blocked.
The second half began with a David Villa shot flying back off the post, then appeared to be in only to be tackled. From a corner on the right, Diego Godín leapt and headed powerful down and into the corner. It was a familiar sight: with 12, Atlético had now scored more from dead balls than anyone else.
Messi had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside. On came Neymar, the only Barcelona player to have scored against Atlético this season, and the noise rose. Atlético were forced backwards.
It was going to be a long half-hour but they resisted superbly. Courtois pushed Alves's shot over and Gerard Piqué went forward as the No9. But only one centre-back was destined to score here: Godín's header means that Atlético Madrid are champions for the first time in 18 years.
There was no trophy handed out, because the president of the Spanish Football Federation could not make it here, but Atlético will not care.
Spain suffered a collective coronary as the season headed into the final minutes of the final day with a single moment sufficient to change the destiny of the title. Barcelona's goalkeeper, José Pinto, was even up for a corner that almost dropped his way. But in the end Diego Godín's header from a corner was enough to clinch a 1-1 draw that means that for the first time in a decade Spain has a champion that is not Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Simeone's side have taken on the duopoly and defeated it. This is a monumental achievement: not only has it been 10 years since someone else won the title, the nearest anyone has been over the last five years was 24, 39, 25, 28 and 17 points. Atlético finished this season three points ahead. They came into the final game needing at least a draw as for the third time two contenders faced each other on the last day with the title in play.
All season, the question had been asked: could Atlético really win the title? Now, incredibly, they have. They did it the hard way. The clock showed 94.04 when, on the penultimate weekend, Adrian López's shot was turned away by the outstretched hand of Willy Caballero. A goal would have given them the title.
Instead, they had to avoid defeat here. Barcelona, who had given up on the league, had benefited from an extraordinary run of results and now had their fate in their own hands. At home too.
A case could be made for this being, a priori, the biggest Spanish league struggle in history. Here was a chance for Atlético to break up a decade-long duopoly, while setting themselves up for a second European Cup final, and it was the third time that two contenders had come face to face on the final day. In 1946 Sevilla had gone to Barcelona and in 1951 Atlético had gone to Sevilla. Both times a 1-1 draw had clinched the title for the away team.
It was not easy. Atlético lost their top scorer, Diego Costa, in tears in the first half and then Arda Turán departed sadly too. Then, out of nothing, Barcelona had the lead. Cesc Fábregas's clipped pass into the area reached Lionel Messi, whose chest-pass found Alexis Seanchez.
The Chilean caught the ball as it bounced up and thumped a shot of implausible power and precision that rocketed past Thibaut Courtois and into the top corner by the near post. Classic Atlético, some concluded. Maybe that jinx had not been definitively laid to rest, after all.
Perhaps not. This was the first time Barcelona had taken the lead in the five meetings between them this season and momentarily, it felt like the end. Barcelona would exercise control while Atlético could not fail to be crushed by the misfortune.
Barely an inch away six days ago, now they had lost two men and trailed by a goal that was a lightning bolt with no sign of the storm.
Atlético, though, responded; there is heart in this team and lots of it. There is head too. The intelligence with which they play is too often overlooked. In the final minutes of the half Atlético pushed Barcelona back, swift into tackles, quick to move the ball and accurate with it.
With every delivery into the area, there were nerves. José Pinto is a goalkeeper who makes saves, but not one who inspires confidence.
One corner squirmed from his hands and led to another as the pressure built. The first had come when Dani Alves had to intervene with Adrián arriving at the far post. Raul García's shot was then blocked.
The second half began with a David Villa shot flying back off the post, then appeared to be in only to be tackled. From a corner on the right, Diego Godín leapt and headed powerful down and into the corner. It was a familiar sight: with 12, Atlético had now scored more from dead balls than anyone else.
Messi had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside. On came Neymar, the only Barcelona player to have scored against Atlético this season, and the noise rose. Atlético were forced backwards.
It was going to be a long half-hour but they resisted superbly. Courtois pushed Alves's shot over and Gerard Piqué went forward as the No9. But only one centre-back was destined to score here: Godín's header means that Atlético Madrid are champions for the first time in 18 years.
There was no trophy handed out, because the president of the Spanish Football Federation could not make it here, but Atlético will not care.
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