LA LIGA:BARCELONA missed a chance to stretch their advantage over chasing Real Madrid and virtually wrap up a third straight La Liga title when they surrendered the lead and lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
With Madrid facing the task of overturning a 2-0 deficit in tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final second leg at the Nou Camp, Real coach Jose Mourinho rested key players.
His team, without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo among others, was upset 3-2 at home by relegation-threatened Real Zaragoza.
Leaders Barcelona looked in good shape to open an 11-point lead over their arch rivals with four games remaining when midfielder Thiago Alcantara opened the scoring in the 29th minute at mid-table Sociedad’s Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian.
But Diego Ifran pounced on a loose ball to equalise with less than 20 minutes left and Xabi Prieto netted from the spot in the 82nd after substitute Javier Mascherano conceded a penalty.
The result, only the second defeat of the season for Pep Guardiola’s side, meant Barcelona just missed equalling Sociedad’s record run of 32 La Liga games unbeaten in the 1979/80 season and leaves them on 88 points from 34 matches.
Real, who beat Barcelona 1-0 to win a dramatic King’s Cup final last week, have 80 points in second. “We are a team that can win or lose,” Guardiola said at a news conference. “We were coming into the game after a very complicated situation,” he added, referring to the controversy around Wednesday’s ill-tempered Champions League semi-final first leg, which resulted in Uefa opening a probe into both teams.
“To be champions we will have to get the four points that we still need.”
If Real managed to draw level on points, Barcelona would still win the title due to a superior head-to-head record.
They routed Real 5-0 at the Nou Camp in November and drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu earlier this month.
Sevilla improved their chances of qualifying for next seasons Europa League and climbed back above Atletico Madrid into fifth when a Renato header gave them a 1-0 win at 10-man Almeria in La Liga yesterday.
The victory over their Andalusian rivals, who are bottom of the standings and on the verge of relegation, lifted Sevilla to 52 points with four games left.
Atletico also have 52 following Saturdays 1-0 success at Deportivo Coruna but are sixth due to an inferior head-to-head record. Athletic Bilbao are on 51 points and can reclaim fifth spot with a win at eighth-placed Espanyol today.
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