Trending 
Atletico Madrid’s faint hopes of winning the Spanish championship were further dashed on Saturday as they drew 1-1 against Espanyol in La Liga.
Cesar Azpilicueta gave the visitors the lead, and Javi Puado provided the Catalan team with a penalty kick to tie the score. Despite playing an additional game, the Rojiblancos were six points behind league leaders Barcelona.
In a Catalan derby, Barcelona will play Girona on Sunday, while Real Madrid, who are in second place and three points ahead of Atletico, will play Leganes later on Saturday.
Jan Oblak, the goalkeeper for Atletico, told Movistar, “I don’t know why this is happening to us, but two points escaped, two important ones.”
“If we don’t have consistency, we can’t fight for the title. We are losing points, and I believe the teams behind us are catching up, so we don’t have it.”
Diego Simeone’s team knew they could not afford to lose any more ground in the fight for the championship after Barca defeated Atletico 4-2 in their last top-division match before the international break.
Simeone benched Rodrigo de Paul and Julian Alvarez in the South American World Cup qualification match against Brazil in the middle of the week.
After a head-to-head match, Uruguayan Jose Gimenez, who had started on the bench as well, was called up to replace Robin Le Normand halfway through the first half.
Playing within themselves, Espanyol, who are now in 15th place and facing relegation, put up a valiant fight against Atletico.
Marcos Llorente’s goal was disallowed early on for offside, but Atletico didn’t generate any more opportunities until Azpilicueta gave the visitors a long-range lead.
When Antoine Griezmann’s cross was cleared to the outside of the box, he scored a magnificent volley into the top corner, making it his first goal for Atletico Madrid and his first goal in three years.
Before the half, Alexander Sorloth pulled a shot wide of the post as Atletico looked for a second goal, and Conor Gallagher came close.
After causing minimal harm, Espanyol managed to neutralise the situation when Clement Lenglet shamelessly tugged Leandro Cabrera’s shirt inside the box.
Following 71 minutes, Puado hammered the next penalty past Oblak’s outstretched arm into the top corner.
Joan Garcia saved a Griezmann header at the end, but Alvarez, who had come on from the bench, struck the side netting as Atletico’s hopes were dwindling.
The Copa del Rey, where Simeone’s team will play Barcelona in the second leg of the semi-final on Wednesday, is their last realistic chance to win a trophy after being eliminated from the Champions League by rivals Real Madrid.
Two points separate Espanyol from the relegation zone now.
“It’s a good point against a side fighting for the title… we got a tricky point, a good one, and we’re doing well,” said goalscorer Puado.
