Atletico strengthen fourth place as Betis seal Champions League return

BARCELONA: Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on fourth place in La Liga with a 2-1 home win over Osasuna on Tuesday, while Real Betis secured qualification for next season’s Champions League after defeating Elche.

Atletico went ahead in the 15th minute when English forward Ademola Lookman converted from the penalty spot after Javi Galan was penalised for handball. The Madrid side doubled their lead with 20 minutes remaining as Alexander Sorloth headed in from close range beyond Aitor Fernandez.

Before that, the main setback for Atletico had been the dismissal of Marcos Llorente, who was shown a red card for two poor fouls. Osasuna reduced the deficit in stoppage time through Kike Barja, whose late strike set up a tense finish, but Atletico held on for the three points.

The result leaves Atletico fourth on 66 points, behind newly crowned champions Barcelona on 91, Real Madrid on 77 and Villarreal on 69. All three sides above them have a game in hand.

At the other end of the standings, Levante moved out of the bottom three after recovering twice to beat Celta Vigo 3-2 away from home. The defeat damaged Celta’s hopes in the race for a Champions League place.

Celta are among five clubs on 39 points hovering near the relegation zone. That group also includes Elche, who lost 2-1 to Betis, and Espanyol, who are due to host Sevilla on Thursday.

Betis book place in Europe’s top competition

Betis’ victory ensured they will finish no lower than fifth, confirming their place in next season’s Champions League. They have 57 points, seven clear of sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

It will be Betis’ first appearance in Europe’s elite club competition since the 2005-06 season. The club have, however, been regular participants in European football in recent years, qualifying every season since 2021 and reaching the Conference League final against Chelsea last season.

Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini said the achievement fulfilled an objective set at the beginning of the campaign.

“It’s not easy to be in European competitions for six years, much less to have qualified for the Champions League two matches before the end of the season,” Pellegrini, 72, told reporters. “The team’s greatest merit was always getting back up after losing.

“I think all those stumbles were more than compensated for today with the great celebration we had in our stadium, with our fans, to whom we owed this joy,” the Chilean added. “We started the first match of the season against Elche, and at the end of the team talk we wrote in green letters, Today we begin our journey to the Champions League.”

Betis will next take on champions Barcelona on Sunday.