Atletico Madrid lifts trophy in Spanish La Liga 1st time in 7 years
Atletico Madrid's players celebrate winning La Liga title at the end of the match against Valladolid at Jose Zorrilla Stadium in Valladolid, Spain, May 22, 2021. (EPA Photo)


Atletico Madrid carried the championship in Spain's La Lig Saturday for the first time since 2014 in a heated race that was determined in the final week.

Veteran striker Luis Suarez scored the comeback win for Atletico in a 2-1 victory over Valladolid that helped them finish at 86 points. Suarez scored in the 58th minute after Angel Correa had equalized Oscar Plano's opener for Valladolid.

This marks the 10th La Liga title for Atletico, which ranks third in Spanish football behind capital rivals Real Madrid's 34 and Barcelona's 26.

Atletico Madrid fans cheer outside Jose Zorrilla stadium during the La Liga match between Valladolid and Atletico Madrid in Valladolid, Spain, May 22, 2021. (EPA Photo)
Atletico Madrid fans celebrate the LaL iga title of their team at Neptuno Fountain in downtown in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2021. (EPA Photo)

Hundreds of fans celebrated in central Madrid after the match, while the police drafted in extra officers and drones to monitor the situation.

Valladolid took a shock lead in the 18th minute when Oscar Plano slotted past Jan Oblak to complete a sweeping counterattack after Yannick Carrasco had lost control of the ball following an Atletico corner.

Just as it has done in last week's comeback win over Osasuna, Atletico missed a series of clear opportunities but it drew level after a moment of magic from Angel Correa, who danced his way through the defense before arrowing into the bottom corner in the 57th minute. Suarez then pounced on a giveaway by the Valladolid defense to score in the 67th and put Atletico on their way to a victory that would secure the title no matter what happened in Real Madrid's game at home to Villarreal.

Valladolid finished 19th and were relegated to Spain's second division, along with 18th Huesca.

Real Madrid's players react after the Spanish La Liga football match against Villarreal at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Villareal victory no enough for Real

Runner-up Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 but that was not enough to overhaul a two-point deficit.

Real trailed at home to a 20th-minute goal by Yeremi Pino latched onto Gerard Moreno's through ball before calmly finishing. Luka Modric and Casemiro missed good chances for the hosts as the first half drew to a close.

Ten minutes after the restart Karim Benzema thought he had equalized, but his header was ruled out for offside following a lengthy video assisted replay (VAR review.

The Frenchman finally scored three minutes from time with a neat finish before teeing up Luka Modric for an injury time winner to turn the game on its head.

"The champions are the team who win the most games, and there's no excuses from us," midfielder Casemiro said.

"We always want to win, but it wasn't to be and we have to congratulate Atletico and their coach. We were one game from getting to the Champions League final and took La Liga to the final day. We're proud, it was a tough season where we really had to fight and work hard."

Villarreal end the season seventh, giving them a place in next year's inaugural Europa Conference League.

Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann (R) in action with Eibar's Miguel Atienza during La Liga football match at Ipurua Municipal Stadium, Eibar, Spain, May 22, 2021. (Reuters Photo)

Barcelona finishes 3rd with Eibar win

An acrobatic late effort from Antoine Griezmann saw Barcelona confirm a third-placed finish in La Liga for the season, as it crept past already relegated Eibar 1-0 on Saturday.

Coach Ronald Koeman named a much-changed starting XI, with Lionel Messi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba and Pedri all absent, and initially, it showed in a somewhat disjointed first half.

Defender Oscar Mingueza was required to make a crucial block early on after Frenkie de Jong lost the ball in a dangerous area in an otherwise uneventful first 45 minutes.

With the game seemingly destined for a draw, it sparked to life in the closing stages.

On 81 minutes Griezmann smashed in from an acute angle following good work from Ousmane Dembele.

Barca was given a scare four minutes from time when Takashi Inui saw an effort smash back off the crossbar, however, the Catalans held out to secure the three points.

They end the campaign on 79 points, seven behind champion Atletico Madrid and five off second-placed Real Madrid.