Atletico Madrid are now all but locked out of the top four spots in La Liga, and will not be playing Champions League football next year unless Malaga or Valencia suffers a truly epic collapse. They're five points behind their rivals for fourth place with two games remaining after they drew 1-1 on Wednesday with Real Sociedad. Both Malaga and Valencia have one game in hand which they will play later on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid Vs. Real Sociedad, 2012 La Liga: La Real Deny Atleti A Win
The first half was highly uneventful, with neither goalkeeper having to do any significant work. Things picked up considerably early in the second half and Atletico Madrid struck first. In the 54th minute, Gabi put his side in front with a spectacular strike from 20 yards out, beating Claudio Bravo with a nearly unstoppable shot.
Unfortunately, what Gabi gave to Atleti, he also indirectly took away. He picked up a yellow card in the 69th minute, then picked up another four minutes later and was sent off, taking Atletico Madrid down to 10 men. Real Sociedad responded with two attacking substitutions, bringing Joseba Llorente and Carlos Vela into the game between the sending off and the 80th minute.
Vela netted the equalizer in stoppage time on a corner kick. Carlos Martinez had the first chance off the corner, but couldn’t hit the target with his header. Llorente eventually won the ball and found Vela, who smashed the ball into the net from close range to seal the draw for La Real and kill off any realistic hopes Atleti had of a top-four finish.
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