It’s safe to say that there has never been a La Liga title race decider like this before, after Atletico Madrid fought to keep their title hopes alive with a 1-1 draw over Malaga last night. Funny enough, they would’ve won the title if they had emerged victorious over Malaga.
Alas, it’s all down to the wire next weekend when Barcelona square off against Atletico in a must-draw match for Simeone’s side. If Barca beat Atletico next Sunday, they will be champions as they have a better head-to-head record.
Atletico are top on 89 points from 37 matches, with Barca on 86 and Real Madrid with 84. Simeone himself acknowledge the complexity of the situation, as he aims to steer Atletico to their first domestic title since 1996 next weekend.
“Now it’s 50-50, like in any final. Our rivals are used to these moments. We are humble and what this team has done is incredible, it has cost a huge amount of effort and we hope it all comes together next Sunday.” – Simeone
Meanwhile, Barcelona played out to a 0-0 draw at Elche which was marred by a series of missed opportunities.
“When you start missing chances so early in the game your feelings of patience start to turn into desperation,” said Gerardo Martino. “At the end we didn’t know if we were taking too many risks and if a goal from them might have taken us out of the fight. I don’t know if we were lacking anything but we did everything we could to win.”
