Atlético eke out win at Elche, Madrid stay 2 points back

BARCELONA: Atlético Madrid needed a goal by Marcos Llorente and a penalty miss by Elche in injury time to grind out a 1-0 win and ensure it stayed at the top of the Spanish league on Saturday.

Real Madrid stayed two points back after late goals by Éder Militão and Casemiro defeated a feisty Osasuna 2-0.

Other than Llorente's first-half goal, Atlético relied on its defense and almost paid for it in the final moments when Llorente used his arm to disrupt a cross into the box. But Diego Simeone's side dodged another costly stumble away from home when Elche's Fidel Chaves fired the resulting penalty kick off the left post.

"It was an obligation to win today," Llorente said after his 12th league goal of the season. "These three points give us a lot of strength for what's ahead. Winning is always a boost to the team's spirit and confidence, and even more so now that we are reaching the finale."

Atlético's first road victory in five trips ensured it stayed ahead of Madrid.

Barcelona is five points off the pace before visiting Valencia on Sunday, and Sevilla is six points back when it hosts Athletic Bilbao on Monday.

Then comes next weekend's pair of head-to-head clashes between the challengers: Atlético visits Barcelona on May 8, and the next day Madrid hosts Sevilla. After that, there will only be three rounds left.

Llorente scored in a match dominated by defense in the 24th when Yannick Carraso dribbled to the end-line and assisted the midfielder in the heart of the box. Llorente's shot took a deflection off a defender.

Ahead in the score, Atlético's defense clamped down until the final minutes when the relegation-threatened Elche finally threatened Jan Olbak's goal only to come up empty.

Atlético once looked ready to run away to its first title since 2014 after it opened up double-digit leads over Madrid and Barcelona. But the advantage has been squandered.