Barcelona fail to increase league lead

Madrid, Apr. 28: Barcelona couldn’t take advantage of Real Madrid’s setback, losing to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday and missing a chance to increase its Spanish league lead.

Barcelona lost 2-1 at Vallecas Stadium, keeping its gap to second-place Madrid at 11 points with seven matches remaining. It could have taken a huge step toward securing its first league title since 2019 if it had won a day after Madrid’s 4-2 loss at Girona.

Barcelona’s lead remains comfortable, though, especially with Madrid focused on the Champions League semifinals against Manchester City and the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna.

Barcelona’s next league games are against Real Betis and Osasuna at Camp Nou Stadium. It was coming off a home win against Atletico Madrid that ended a three-game winless streak.

“It wasn’t a good game for us,” Barcelona coach Xavi said. “We are upset because it was a good opportunity for us. It’s not over yet.”

It was the second win in three games for Rayo, which stayed in ninth place. It scored with Álvaro García in the 19th minute and Fran García in the 53rd. Barcelona got on the board late with Robert Lewandowski, who had scored only two goals in his last 10 matches entering the meeting with Rayo.

Atletico rebound

Atletico rebounded from its loss at Barcelona with a convincing 3-1 win against Mallorca at home.

Rodrigo De Paul, Álvaro Morata and Yannick Carrasco scored for Atletico, which cut its gap to second-place Madrid to three points. Atletico’s gap to fifth-place Betis, the first team outside the Champions Leagues spots, reached 14 points.

In a key match in the fight against relegation, Almeria won 2-1 at Getafe to move to 15th place, three points clear from the relegation zone. Getafe dropped to 17th, one point above the relegation zone. Celta Vigo was up to 12th after a 1-0 home win against last-place Elche.

Inter reach Cup final

Inter Milan maintained its push for a trio of trophies as it beat Juventus 1-0 on Wednesday to reach its second straight Italian Cup final.

Federico Dimarco scored the only goal of the match to help defending champion Inter advance 2-1 on aggregate. The Nerazzurri will play either Fiorentina or Cremonese in the final on May 24 in Rome.

Inter plays AC Milan in the Champions League semifinals next month. It beat its city rival to win the Italian Super Cup in January.

“I can’t tell you the truth, but it doesn’t matter how I hit it,” Dimarco said with a laugh when asked if he had actually mishit his shot. “The important thing is that the ball went in. That’s what matters in the end.” (AP)