Atletico Madrid and Barcelona stumbled to draws on Sunday, tightening the Spanish league title race, with Real Madrid only one point behind the joint leaders.
Barcelona’s potent attack, led by Lionel Messi, was held 1-1 at Levante, leaving the door open for Atlético to claim sole possession of top spot later but they conceded a second-half penalty at home to Sevilla to finish 1-1 as well and squander the chance to lead the standings for the first time since September 2010.
Atlético started brightly when David Villa rifled in a clearance by the Sevilla goalkeeper Antonio Bastos in the 18th minute at Vicente Calderón Stadium. They did not seriously threaten to extend their advantage and were undone when the defender Juanfran Torres pulled down the striker Carlos Bacca by his shirt. Ivan Rakitic fired the spot-kick into the corner of the net, just out of the reach of Thibaut Courtois, for the 73rd-minute equaliser.
Real and Barça, the world’s two richest clubs by income, have dominated La Liga over the past decade but Atlético have emerged as title contenders this season under their Argentinian coach, Diego Simeone.
Earlier on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betisapart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 victory that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atlético Madrid at the top of La Liga.
