Atletico edge past weakened Madrid

AFP

Madrid, May 10: Atletico Madrid won a La Liga derby against Real Madrid for the first time in six years on Sunday as a 1-0 victory left Diego Simeone’s side on the cusp of securing Champions League qualification.

Yannick Carrasco’s first-half penalty proved enough at the Wanda Metropolitano against a heavily weakened Real Madrid, who took the chance to rotate after their incredible Champions League comeback against Manchester City on Wednesday.

With Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Thibaut Courtois among those on the bench for the already-crowned champions, Atletico took advantage, even if they missed a string of chances that made the contest far more uncomfortable than it needed to be.

Atletico sit fourth, six points clear of Real Betis in fifth, with three games left to play. Their better head-to-head record over Betis means they will be guaranteed to finish in the top four if Betis fail to win away at Valencia on Tuesday.

Sevilla also took a step closer to finishing in La Liga’s top four after Jules Kounde’s 96th-minute equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw away at Villarreal. It gave them a seven-point cushion over Betis

Milan close in on title glory

Sandro Tonali fired AC Milan closer to the Serie A title with a brace in Sunday’s 3-1 win at Verona which maintained their two-point lead over Inter Milan at the top of the league.

Italy midfielder Tonali struck with almost identical goals created by Rafael Leao either side of half-time before Alessandro Florenzi completed the scoring near the end to leave Milan needing four points from their final two games to claim a first Scudetto since 2011.

Their superior record in this season’s Milan derbies gives the seven-time European champions an advantage which would keep them ahead of champions Inter should the two local rivals end the season level on points.

Giorgio Altare’s thumping header in the ninth minute of stoppage handed Cagliari a dramatic 1-1 draw at Salernitana which kept their survival hopes alive.