The Primera Division title race took another twist on Saturday as Atletico Madrid suffered a shock defeat away to struggling Almeria.<\/p>\n
Jose Antonio Verza curled in a stunning goal – surely meant as a cross – 10 minutes from time after Almeria’s stubborn defensive display had driven Atletico to distraction on a night of pure frustration.<\/p>\n
And things got worse five minutes later when goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia – perhaps at fault for the opener – blundered in a big way, fluffing a back-pass and then fouling Jonathan Zongo to concede a penalty, converted by Verza, and seeing red.<\/p>\n
The decision seemed harsh, particularly the red card, but Almeria were not complaining.<\/p>\n
Atletico ended the night in second place in the overall standings – if only on goal difference following a big win for Real Madrid – but victory for Barcelona at Sevilla on Sunday would send Gerardo Martino’s men back to the top of the league.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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