La liga: Real Madrid receive no guard of honour from Atlético de Madrid, lose 1-0

Atlético Madrid went on to beat the newly crowned Spanish league champion 1-0 and moved closer to securing a Champions League spot

After keeping a promise that it wouldn’t give Real Madrid an honor guard before the game, Atlético Madrid went on to beat the newly crowned Spanish league champion 1-0 and moved closer to securing a Champions League spot.

Atlético clinched the victory in the last city derby of the season with a 40th-minute penalty kick converted by Yannick Carrasco in the first win against its rival since 2018.

It gave fourth-place Atlético a six-point advantage over fifth-place Real Betis, the first team outside the Champions League spots with three rounds to go. Betis lost 2-1 at home to second-place Barcelona on Saturday.

Sevilla stayed one point in front of Atlético after salvaging a stoppage-time 1-1 draw at Villarreal earlier Sunday.

“We have three matches left but this was an important step toward reaching our goal,” Atlético coach Diego Simeone said.

“After keeping a promise that it wouldn’t give Real Madrid an honor guard before the game, Atlético Madrid went on to beat the newly crowned Spanish league champion”

Madrid clinched its record-extending 35th league title last weekend with a 4-0 home win against Espanyol.