Madrid held by Sevilla, misses chance to take lead in Spain

<p>MADRID &mdash; Real Madrid missed its chance to go top of the Spanish league with only three rounds left by drawing 2-2 with Sevilla at home on Sunday, keeping rival Atlético Madrid in first place.</p>
<p>Atlético, which drew 0-0 with Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday and is chasing its first league title since 2014, stayed two points in front of both second-place Madrid and Barcelona.</p>
<p>Madrid twice trailed against Sevilla, needing an own-goal deep in stoppage time to earn the final equalizer at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. </p>
<p>Fernando had put the visitors ahead in the 22nd minute before Marco Asensio evened the match in the 67th. Ivan Rakitic converted a penalty kick in the 78th to leave Sevilla in front. The own-goal by Sevilla defender Diego Carlos, deflecting a shot by Toni Kroos in the fourth minute of injury time, salvaged a point for Madrid. </p>
<p>Sevilla was six points off the lead and kept a very slim chance of winning its first league title since 1946.</p>
<p>Madrid hadn’t conceded in four consecutive league games and had won four in a row against Sevilla in the domestic competition. The late goal kept the defending champions unbeaten in 15 straight games in the league. </p>
<p>OTHER RESULTS</p>
<p>Valencia beat Valladolid 3-0 with two goals by Maxi Gómez and one from Thierry Correia, moving the team further away from the relegation zone. The home victory came a day after thousands of fans protested outside the team’s stadium against the club’s Singaporean owner Peter Lim.</p>
<p>Celta Vigo won 4-2 at Villarreal in a match with three penalty kicks, two of them for the visitors in the first half. Sixth-place Villarreal had two players on the bench shown the red card for complaining. Eighth-place Celta was reduced to 10 men late in the match. </p>
<p>Earlier, last-place Eibar kept alive its hopes of escaping relegation with a 1-0 win at Getafe, with Recio converting an 89th-minute penalty kick. Eibar moved within two points from safety after all three teams ahead in the standings lost this weekend. </p>
<p>FAN CONFRONTATION</p>
<p>Spanish media said at least one Numancia player got into a confrontation with fans after the team’s relegation to the fourth division on Sunday. Bats and a knife were reportedly carried by some involved in the altercation after the match. There were no reports of injuries.</p>
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