NEW DELHI: Atletico Madrid secured a crucial 3-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday, strengthening their grip on a Champions League spot. The win puts Simeone's team six points ahead of their Basque rivals, who sit in fifth place, with only five games left to play.
Rodrigo De Paul opened the scoring for Atletico, and although Nico Williams equalized for Athletic shortly after being subjected to alleged racial abuse while taking a corner, further goals from Angel Correa and an Unai Simon own goal sealed the three points for the home side.
The loss leaves Athletic, who recently triumphed in the Copa del Rey, with a slim chance of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in ten years.
In other La Liga action, Girona climbed to second place after a 2-0 away win at Las Palmas, putting them on the brink of Champions League qualification. Meanwhile, league leaders Real Madrid edged past Real Sociedad 1-0 on Friday, and third-placed
Barcelona host Valencia on Monday.
Before the match, Atletico supporters paid tribute to retiring Athletic forward Raul Garcia, who was part of their 2014 La Liga-winning squad. The game was briefly halted in the 36th minute due to apparent racial abuse directed at Athletic's Nico Williams as he prepared to take a corner.
Moments later, Williams responded by scoring the equalizer, celebrating by tapping his arm in an apparent reference to his skin colour.
Atletico regained the lead in the second half through Correa, who controlled Koke's chipped pass before calmly beating Simon. The hosts sealed the victory when Samuel Lino's low shot hit the post and deflected into the net off the back of goalkeeper Simon.
(Inputs from AFP)