The winner of this season's La Liga title will be decided on the final matchday of the season although the penultimate fixture has given fans of the league a clearer persepective on whom the prospective winner could be. The latest round of matches were not short of drama with all the games slated for Sunday kicking off at the same time. In the end, the two Madrid clubs had a lot to smile about while their rivals from Barcelona had their dreams crushed.
Having had two goals ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee, Atletico Madrid were given a bitter pill to swallow against Osasuna after conceeding Ante Budimir's opener in the 75th minute. The Croatia attacker had a thumping header dispelled by goalkeeper Jan Oblak but a replay revealed that the striker's effort crossed the line before being kept out by the Slovenian. Seven minutes later Simeone's men restored parity through Renan Lodi before Luis Suarez completed the comeback with a brilliant finish in the 88th minute.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid secured three vital points in their away trip to Athleti Club to back their charge for the league title. Following a drab first half, Los Blancos sprang into life in the second half and broke the deadlock through Nacho Fernandes in the 68th-minute. Their cause was further aided by the sending off of Raul Garcia with just a minute of normal time left to play.
Over in Catalunya, Barcelona had their dreams of winning La Liga this season shattered after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo. The Blaugrana were favorites to clinch victory and backed this claim by scoring first through Lionel Messi before conceeding Santi Mina's equaliser seven minutes to half-time. After being kept at bay for the majority of the second half, Ronald Koeman's side received the sucker punch in the 89th minute as a result of another Santi Mina strike.
With the results from the various centers, Atletico Madrid still leads the pack with 83 points and will need to win their final game against Real Valladolid to secure the title for the first time in six years. Defending champions Real Madrid follow closely with 81 points and will take on Villarreal in their final game of the season while Barcelona and Sevilla occupy the third and fourth positions with 76 and 74 points respectively.
