Atletico Madrid are Spanish champions again, Saturday's tense 2-1 win at Real Valladolid sealing the title seven years on from their only previous championship success under Diego Simeone.
Much like on that occasion, Atletico had to wait until the final day of the season to make absolutely sure of their triumph, something few would have predicted of their campaign not too long ago.
Simeone's men have been top for much of the season, granted, but in recent months their position at the summit became precarious.
It's fair to say they have ridden their luck over the past few weeks, including on Saturday as they had to come from behind at Valladolid, but their supporters will be fine with that after they eventually brought it home.
Following their title-clinching victory, we look back on the other matches that have been crucial in their success.
Atletico Madrid 6-1 Granada, September 27
Okay, maybe it's a little over the top to suggest Atletico's very first game of the season had much bearing on winning the title, but the manner of it was seriously impressive and set the tone for the rest of the campaign – even if they did draw their next two matches.
It was a particularly memorable outing for Luis Suarez, who, cast aside by Barcelona, netted a brace as he became the first player this century to score and assist on his Atletico debut.
Atletico romped to what was their biggest opening-day win under Simeone, and they've hardly looked back.
Atletico 1-0 Barcelona, November 21
Barca were in turmoil at times in the first half of the season and that gave Atletico the perfect opportunity to gain a psychological edge. With Suarez missing against his former club, the visitors might have fancied their chances, but Atletico prevailed to claim their first league win over the Blaugrana in more than 10 years.
Yannick Carrasco got the all-important goal as Atletico set a club record of 24 LaLiga games unbeaten, while Barca were left with just 11 points from their first eight league matches, their worst start to a season since 1991-92.
Eibar 1-2 Atletico Madrid, January 21
One aspect of Atletico's trip to Ipurua in January will be recounted time and time again by statisticians, and it's not that they came from behind to win. No, the most fascinating element of this game was that it was Marko Dmitrovic who broke the deadlock from the spot, becoming the first goalkeeper to score in LaLiga since Dani Aranzubia in February 2011. The last stopper to net a penalty was nine years before that.
But it was Atletico who had the last laugh. Suarez scored both of their goals, including a last-gasp penalty, to spare Los Colchoneros' blushes.
While a win away to Eibar – who've since been relegated – may not look like much, who's to say that having someone as reliable as Suarez to convert a late penalty under pressure wasn't the decisive moment in their title quest?
Barcelona 0-0 Atletico, May 8
At the halfway point of their season, Atletico were seven points clear at the summit with two games in hand on Real Madrid in second. They had been devastatingly effective in the first half of the season as they collected 50 points, but in the 18 matches since, that haul has plummeted to 33.
Atletico have been far more erratic since the turn and their trip to Camp Nou looked especially uncomfortable, as a defeat would have seen Barca go above them in the table, while any result other than a win will have given Real Madrid the initiative.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen impressed for Barca in the first half, making six saves, though clear-cut chances weren't exactly a regular occurrence, neither side even managing to reach 1.0 xG (expected goals) over the course of the game. Atletico faced a nervous wait to see if their neighbours would capitalise…
Real Madrid 2-2 Sevilla, May 9
The second part to a title-race double-header across May 8 and 9, Madrid and Sevilla both still fancied their chances of sealing the crown at this point, and what an occasion it was in Valdebebas.
Madrid looked to be heading to a remarkable defeat when they had a late penalty overturned because Eder Militao was controversially deemed to have handled in his own area at the start of the attack, with Ivan Rakitic converting the spot-kick to put Sevilla in front for the second time.
Toni Kroos saw a long-range shot deflect in off Eden Hazard deep into stoppage time but it was not enough – winning the title was no longer in their own hands.
Atletico 2-1 Osasuna, May 16
The title looked to be slipping from Atletico's grasp again last weekend, as Ante Budimir's 75th-minute header put Osasuna in front shortly after Madrid had gone 1-0 up at Athletic Bilbao – at this juncture Los Blancos were top by a point.
Renan Lodi levelled for Atletico with 82 minutes on the clock but that wasn't going to be enough, as they would still sit behind Madrid due to their inferior head-to-head record. They needed another.
With two minutes left, Suarez ended something of a mini-drought to clinch victory, his 20th goal of the season, a haul that had secured Atletico 19 points at that point – only Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri could match that at the time.
The goal sparked joyous celebrations on the pitch, Atletico's bench and in the stadium's car park where a group of supporters gathered.
It left them with the two-point advantage over Madrid that was required heading into the final day, with Simeone's men subsequently refusing to throw it all away against Valladolid, despite falling behind once again.
Oscar Plano put Valladolid in front in the first half, but Atletico rallied after the interval as Angel Correa netted a brilliant equaliser and Suarez sealed the win 23 minutes from time, Madrid's own turnaround against Villarreal elsewhere ultimately an irrelevence.
Atletico are the champions.
Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid missed out on the title and had to find comfort in the late comeback that brought a 2-1 home win against Villarreal in LaLiga.
Madrid have ended a season without silverware for the first time since 2009-10, and there are doubts over whether captain Sergio Ramos and particularly coach Zidane will remain at the club.
Needing a win here to stand any chance of overtaking Atletico Madrid, the long-time leaders, Zidane's team were sorely lacking in quality and looked set to end their campaign on a losing note.
LaLiga has worthy champions in Atletico, with Madrid trailing here for much of the game to a goal from 18-year-old Yeremy Pino, before Karim Benzema netted an 87th-minute leveller and Luka Modric fired a stoppage-time winner.
Antoine Griezmann scored an acrobatic late winner to salvage Barcelona a 1-0 win at bottom side Eibar in their final game of the LaLiga season.
Barca were unable to catch Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the top two positions on Saturday following a three-game winless run that has increased the pressure on Ronald Koeman.
Without rested skipper Lionel Messi for their final-day trip to Ipurua, the Catalans badly struggled for creativity against their relegated opponents.
However, Griezmann acrobatically fired in nine minutes from time to earn a barely deserved win for Barca that made certain of third place ahead of Sevilla's meeting with Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid claimed their 11th LaLiga title as Angel Correa and Luis Suarez inspired a 2-1 comeback victory over Real Valladolid on a tense final day of 2020-21.
With second-placed Real Madrid facing Villarreal, Diego Simeone's men needed a win to guarantee the title, but their hopes hung in the balance when Oscar Plana put relegation-battling Valladolid ahead.
But Correa's superb solo effort restored parity, with a glaring miss from Shon Weissman at the other end setting the stage for Suarez to complete the turnaround.
Madrid produced a late turnaround to win 2-1 but finished two points behind their city rivals in the table.
The pressure on Atleti's shoulders was reflected in a frantic start from the league leaders, with Suarez and Saul Niguez snatching at efforts before Valladolid struck.
In the 18th minute, a breakdown in Atleti's attack resulted in Marcos de Sousa feeding Plano who, after just keeping himself ahead of a glut of chasing defenders, slotted coolly beyond Jan Oblak.
Jawad El Yamiq nearly handed Atleti a reprieve with what would have been a calamitous own goal, and with Weissman having squandered a chance to double Valladolid's lead, Suarez went close after the restart, only for Saidy Janko to clear the Uruguayan's goal-bound header.
Yet the pressure finally told in the 57th minute.
It looked like the chance to shoot had gone when Correa took a heavy touch, yet nifty footwork created space between four defenders and the Argentine prodded a brilliant finish low into the right-hand corner.
Valladolid seemed all set to restore their lead just after the hour, only for Weissman to again miss a golden opportunity, heading over a gaping goal after Oblak had parried Lucas Olaza's strike.
Atleti made Valladolid pay, Suarez pouncing on Michel's sloppy pass to race clear and curl home the decisive blow, clinching Simeone's second LaLiga crown and condemning the hosts to the second tier.
Atletico Madrid have won LaLiga for the 11th time in their history.
Diego Simeone's side beat Real Valladolid 2-1 on Saturday to clinch their first top-flight crown since 2013-14 and just their third in 25 years.
Previous champions Real Madrid, who fought back to beat Villarreal by the same scoreline in their final match of 2020-21, finished second in the table, with Barcelona securing third by beating relegated Eibar and Sevilla – who play on Sunday – set to end the season fourth.
Atleti are the only team to have won Spain's top league other than Madrid or Barca since Valencia claimed their sixth title in 2003-04.
Simeone is just the third coach to win two LaLiga titles for the club, following Ricardo Zamora (1939-40 and 1940-41) and Helenio Herrera (1949-50 and 1950-51).
The result also meant Valladolid were relegated to the second tier.
It is the fifth LaLiga title in the career of striker Luis Suarez, who finished as Atleti's top scorer this season with 21 goals in 32 league games.
The 34-year-old only joined Atleti last year after being deemed surplus to requirements at Barca.
Former Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente was also key to Atleti's title triumph. With 12 goals and 11 assists, he is the first Atletico player since Diego Forlan (32 goals, 10 assists) in 2008-09 to record a 'double-double' of at least 10 goals and assists in the same season.
Llorente has epitomised the way Atleti have performed beyond expectations this season. His 12 goals have come from just 3.41 expected goals (xG), and his 11 assists from 5.38 expected assists (xA). The difference in each of those figures is the highest among LaLiga players in 2020-21.
Atletico Madrid have won LaLiga for the 11th time in their history.
Diego Simeone's side beat Real Valladolid 2-1 on Saturday to clinch their first top-flight crown since 2013-14 and just their third in 25 years.
Previous champions Real Madrid, who fought back to beat Villarreal by the same scoreline in their final match of 2020-21, finished second in the table, with Barcelona securing third by beating relegated Eibar and Sevilla – who play on Sunday – set to end the season fourth.
Atleti are the only team to have won Spain's top league other than Madrid or Barca since Valencia claimed their sixth title in 2003-04.
Simeone is just the third coach to win two LaLiga titles for the club, following Ricardo Zamora (1939-40 and 1940-41) and Helenio Herrera (1949-50 and 1950-51).
The result also meant Valladolid were relegated to the second tier.
It is the fifth LaLiga title in the career of striker Luis Suarez, who finished as Atleti's top scorer this season with 21 goals in 32 league games.
The 34-year-old only joined Atleti last year after being deemed surplus to requirements at Barca.
Former Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente was also key to Atleti's title triumph. With 12 goals and 11 assists, he is the first Atletico player since Diego Forlan (32 goals, 10 assists) in 2008-09 to record a 'double-double' of at least 10 goals and assists in the same season.
Llorente has epitomised the way Atleti have performed beyond expectations this season. His 12 goals have come from just 3.41 expected goals (xG), and his 11 assists from 5.38 expected assists (xA). The difference in each of those figures is the highest among LaLiga players in 2020-21.
Hansi Flick said record-breaker Robert Lewandowski's achievements illustrated the quality of his Bayern Munich team-mates, as the coach reflected on an emotional final game in charge.
Lewandowski scored with the last touch of the game in Saturday's 5-2 win over Augsburg in the champions' Bundesliga finale.
It gave the prolific Pole a 41st league goal of the season, meaning he surpassed fellow Bayern legend Gerd Muller for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign.
Lewandowski had endured a frustrating outing to that point but celebrated with an emotional embrace with Flick.
Speaking after the game, Lewandowski was keen to pay tribute to his fellow Bayern stars, a sentiment shared by Flick.
Speaking to Sky Germany, Flick said: "We win together, that's the focus. With the quality that each and every one of them has, Lewy naturally benefits from it.
"I'm happy for Lewy. I said to Tapa [assistant coach Toni Tapalovic] that it won't be anything today. But that's the class of a goalscorer that he then scores."
Flick stepped up to the head coach role, initially on an interim basis, in November 2019 following the departure of Niko Kovac.
Under his stewardship, Bayern have won seven major trophies including a memorable treble in the 2019-20 campaign.
Flick now appears certain to replace Joachim Low as Germany boss after the rescheduled Euro 2020, but for now he wants to focus on celebrating Bayern's ninth straight top-flight title.
"The team has grown very dear to my heart, that's a benchmark for me. I am very, very proud. It was a very, very great pleasure for me to coach this team," Flick said.
"Two years ago I was on vacation with my brothers, then after the cup final there was a call from Niko Kovac. Then you know how the story went on.
"I don't know yet [on the Germany role]. Today I want to enjoy the championship first. I have been a big Bayern fan since I was a kid.
"It's such a shame that there weren't many fans for me as Bayern coach."
It was not just Flick saying farewell to Bayern against Augsburg. Modern-day legends David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez all played their last game for the club.
Asked about the emotions of the day, Flick replied: "When Jerome and David come out, that's a special moment."
Lorenzo Fortunato was a surprise but deserved winner on a brutal stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia, as overall leader Egan Bernal stretched his lead in the race for the maglia rosa.
Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team rider Fortunato was part of an 11-rider breakaway as the peloton climbed the iconic Zoncolan in the final stages of the 206.5 kilometre ride from Cittadella.
Together with Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious), Fortunato slipped away from the rest of the pack and then attacked solo on the toughest part of the climb with around 2.3km left.
Tratnik was in view with around 1,000 metres to go but Fortunato held on for a win on what is his Grand Tour debut.
"The breakaway went easy all day but at the start of the Zoncolan I attacked and stayed behind Tratnik. My legs are very good and I'm very, very happy," he said after the stage.
Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) finished fourth on the stage, having responded to a late attack from Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) and responding with a move of his own on the Briton with only a few hundred metres remaining.
Yates is now second overall, one minute and 33 seconds back, with Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) a further 18 seconds behind in third.
Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana Premier Tech) had started the day second in the General Classification but could not reply to the moves made by Bernal and Yates, and now finds himself fourth overall.
"I think it’s a good gap, but I need to have focus," Bernal said.
"Everything can happen in the Giro. It looks like 1:30 is enough time but you never know. I need to be calm with the gap."
STAGE RESULT
1. Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) 5:17:22
2. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) +00:26
3. Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) +00:59
4. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) +1:43
5. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) +1:47
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 58:30:47
2. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +1:33
3. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +1:51
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 135
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) 126
3. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 113
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 96
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 57
3. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 50
Rising star Casper Ruud continued his impressive 2021 with a straight-sets win over Denis Shapovalov in the Geneva Open final to win his second career title.
The world number 21 prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the first top-level meeting between the two players to add to the Argentina Open crown won – also on clay – in February 2020.
Ruud did not face a single break point in the match, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, and needed only one break conversion himself to see off second seed Shapovalov.
"It's tough to find all the words," said Ruud, who has a 15-4 record on clay this year.
"It was such an amazing week here in Geneva. I was always looking forward to coming to this tournament.
"I watched it on TV for many years when I was younger and it always seemed like a nice place, so I guess I know why I wanted to come here.
"It's been going well and this week has been unbelievable for me."
Looking to lay down a marker ahead of the upcoming French Open, where he reached the third round last year, third seed Ruud took little time to get going against Shapovalov.
However, the first set went the way of the serve to set up a tie-break, which the Norwegian eventually took with his fifth set point after Shapovalov won four points in a row.
Shapovalov was competing in his third tour-level final after winning the Stockholm Open and losing in the Paris Masters final in 2019, but he struggled to break his opponent.
Ruud earned a break in the fifth game of the second set and saw the job through to keep his momentum going ahead of the second grand slam of the year.
Asked about his aims for Roland Garros, Ruud said: "Well, it's the toughest clay court tournament of the year.
"This season I am playing well on the clay and I'm looking forward to Paris. I hope I can make the second week, that's all I can say.
"If I'm in the second week I will be very happy of course."
Coco Gauff was in superb form as she dispatched Wang Qiang 6-1 6-3 to win the Emilia-Romagna Open, the teenager's second career title.
Third seed Gauff needed just 74 minutes to seal a straight sets success, with her Chinese opponent unable to lay a glove on her.
The 17-year-old, who had previously won the 2019 Linz Open, enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia last week and looks in fine fettle heading to the French Open.
She dropped only one set during her charge at Parma, a triumph which takes her into the top 30 in the WTA rankings and ensures that she will be seeded for the French Open.
Gauff had won 19 of her last 25 WTA Tour matches heading into Saturday's contest, and had little trouble in making it 20.
A brief rally from Wang at the end of the start of the first set was not enough to stop Gauff, who saved all four of the break points she faced throughout the contest.
She now has the chance to complete a clean sweep in Parma, as she pairs with Caty McNally in the doubles final, against Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was happy to be kept "humble" as he needed three sets to defeat teenager Lorenzo Musetti in the Lyon Open semi-finals.
The world number five won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo and reached the final in Barcelona before cruising into the last four in France without dropping a set.
However, he was forced to come from behind to beat Musetti 4-6 6-3 6-0 on Saturday to set up a showdown with Cameron Norrie.
Musetti, who broke into the top 100 for the first time this year after losing to Tsitsipas in the semi-finals in Acapulco, broke at 2-2 in the opening set as he caused havoc with drop shots.
It was not until Tsitsipas moved 5-3 ahead in the second set that the Italian's resistance finally seemed to break as he failed to win another game.
"It was important I had a match like this," Tsitsipas said. "It makes me stay humble and focus on some detailed things I can potentially improve and get better at on clay.
"I had to stay calm. It was difficult to be a set down and have to kind of refresh myself and come anew in the second set. He was still putting [in] a lot of work and making me work for every single point. It wasn't easy."
Tsitsipas will contest the final against Norrie, who got better as the day wore on across his quarter-final and semi-final matches.
Norrie concluded a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win over Arthur Rinderknech before dispatching eighth seed Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-1 in superb fashion.
"Everything was working well: serving well, returning well, anticipating the ball well," said the 25-year-old, who reached his second Tour final at this year's Estoril Open.
"I came forward when I needed to and was aggressive with good depth. It was nice to come through like that.
"I had a tough loss in my last final so it's nice I can get another opportunity so soon. It's going to be tough against Stefanos. He's in the zone as well, so it's going to be an interesting final."
Robert Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record for goals scored in a single Bundesliga season with a last-gasp effort as Bayern Munich routed Augsburg 5-2 on a day of fond farewells.
The prolific Pole could only watch on as an own goal plus efforts from Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich and Kingsley Coman had the champions flying at half-time of the season finale at the Allianz Arena.
But, after consolations from Andre Hahn and Florian Niederlechner, Lewandowski followed in when Rafal Gikiewicz spilled Leroy Sane's effort to make it 41 top-flight goals for the season with the last kick of the game.
It was a dramatic ending to an emotional outing, which was the last for head coach Hansi Flick and modern-day Bayern greats David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez.
Robert Lewandowski has broken Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record for goals scored in a single season with his 41st top-flight goal of the campaign in Bayern Munich's win over Augsburg.
Fellow Die Roten legend Muller celebrated 40 goals across the 1971-72 campaign.
But his benchmark has finally been surpassed by the brilliant Lewandowski, who had matched Muller with a penalty last weekend in a 2-2 draw at Freiburg.
Lewandowski's record-breaking moment arrived late on in the 5-2 victory at home to Augsburg, getting the last goal of the game.
Robert Lewandowski has broken Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record for goals scored in a single season with his 41st top-flight goal of the campaign in Bayern Munich's win over Augsburg.
Fellow Die Roten legend Muller celebrated 40 goals across the 1971-72 campaign.
But his benchmark has finally been surpassed by the brilliant Lewandowski, who had matched Muller with a penalty last weekend in a 2-2 draw at Freiburg.
Lewandowski's record-breaking moment arrived late on in the 5-2 victory at home to Augsburg, getting the last goal of the game.
For a long period of the game, it appeared as though Lewandowski would fall agonisingly short of sitting out in front on his own.
In total he had 10 shots, six of which were on target, in a game that marked the last of Hansi Flick's tenure as Bayern head coach.
But finally, with the last kick of the game, Lewandowski's moment arrived. The prolific Pole reacted fastest when Rafal Gikiewicz could only parry Leroy Sane's effort, and the striker picked up the ball, rounded the keeper and slotted into an unguarded goal.
Lewandowski removed his shirt in joy then shared an emotional embrace with Flick to celebrate a momentous goal.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
