Diego Simeone is ready to accept responsibility if Atletico Madrid fail to qualify for the Champions League.
On the day Atleti saw their LaLiga crown taken by bitter rivals Real Madrid, they suffered a potentially damaging 2-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.
They remained in fourth after the defeat, yet fifth-placed Real Betis can cut the gap to just a point if they overcome Getafe on Monday.
Los Colchoneros face a tough run-in that sees them play champions Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad in three of their four remaining games.
Asked at a media conference if he was worried about not securing a top-four spot, Simeone said: "It occupies me. You have to know how to be in difficult moments and there have been a few in recent years.
"We will see who is up for this difficult moment. The responsibility rests with me. I am the first one responsible for whether it happens or not.
"Everyone needs to stay calm, there are four games left."
Athletic were good value for their win, which came courtesy of an early Mario Hermoso own goal and a second-half penalty from Inaki Williams.
The result meant Atleti have now failed to score in their past two LaLiga games – the first time they have done that since October 2020 when they drew blanks against Huesca and Villarreal.
Simeone had no complaints with his side's effort, though, and said there is no lack of desire to achieve a top-four spot.
"The first few minutes weren't good, then the team improved," he said. "Their first goal hit Hermoso and went in; Carrasco's strike does the same but goes wide. These are the small details that matter.
"If you see how they train, how they work and commit to doing what we say, then there is nothing to say. There is no lack of commitment or intensity.
"There is anxiety and the desire to achieve the goal of the club."
Atleti are next in action on May 8 when they host Los Blancos in El Derbi at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Zirkzee enjoys dream full debut
Joshua Zirkzee marked his first Netherlands start with a goal and an assist as Ronald Koeman's side kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Manchester United forward opened the scoring early on at the Philips Stadion.
A quiet start to proceedings burst into life in the 13th minute as Simons' deflected effort dropped kindly for Zirkzee, who nodded the ball beyond Nikola Vasilj.
But with their second shot on target, Bosnia snatched an equaliser after Denis Huseinbasic's defence-splitting pass picked out Ermedin Demirovic, who finished smartly.
Teed up by Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders restored the hosts' advantage before teeing up Cody Gakpo, who maintained the goalscoring form he displayed at Euro 2024.
Bosnia provided a nervy finish to proceedings after Edin Dzeko neatly poked the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen, only for Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons to seal the win in the closing stages.
Data Debrief: Gen Z(irkzee)
Having only held a one-goal advantage until the 88th minute, the scoreline eventually reflected the Netherlands' dominance in Eindhoven.
Koeman's side generated an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, registering 28 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to their opponents' four and three.
Zirkzee, meanwhile, became the fourth player after Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Bas Dost and Vincent Janssen to contribute a goal and assist on their starting debut for the Netherlands.
It was also the first Netherlands game with three players representing the same non-Dutch club side (Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Gakpo for Liverpool) since November 2013 (Michel Vorm, Dwight Tiendalli and Jonathan de Guzman for Swansea City against China).
Germany 5-0 Hungary: Musiala wreaks havoc against Hungary
Jamal Musiala's scintillating performance led Germany to a 5-0 rout of Hungary in the Nations League.
Musiala was unstoppable as he scored once and teed up three more goals in a five-star display for Julian Nagelsmann's team in Dusseldorf.
The Bayern Munich star was involved in the opener when he saw a shot rebounded to Niclas Fullkrug in the 27th minute, with the West Ham striker making no mistake to slot home into an empty net.
Musiala eventually got on the scoresheet himself after the restart as he sprinted away from the Hungary defence on the counter and coolly finished past Peter Gulasci.
The 21-year-old turned provider once more in the 62nd minute as he laid the ball off for Florian Wirtz to strike home from the edge of the box, before he made it a hat-trick of assists when he played in club-mate Aleksandar Pavlovic.
In the only goal of the game not involving Musiala, Kai Havertz had to do it all himself. The Arsenal forward, who had previously rattled the crossbar, was tripped in the box before calmly passing his penalty into the bottom right corner.
Data Debrief: Musiala Magic
Musiala was at the centre of the action and provided four goal contributions (1G 3A) in an international match for Germany for the first time. The playmaker is the youngest player to register four goal involvements in a single Nations League game for any team.
Prior to Musiala's strike, Germany's last six goals in the Nations League had all been scored by Premier League players.
Germany really clicked into gear after the break, and are unbeaten in their last five Nations League matches when leading at the break (W3, D2) dating back to October 2018 against France (L1-2).
Carsley casts the credit to England's players after debut win
Lee Carsley insisted his England players "have to take all of the credit" after winning his debut match as England manager.
Interim boss Carsley oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It marked the first time Ireland have lost a home match against England since May 1964.
The former England Under-21s manager, however, was keen to credit his players after first-half goals from Jack Grealish and Declan Rice saw England over the line.
"The lads have to take a lot of credit, all of the credit. I think we've showed we've got some real talent and we can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well," he told ITV.
"I thought it was good in parts. You've seen some of the things we've tried to do."
Carsley, who represented Ireland as a player, was vindicated in recalling Grealish after his omission from the Euros squad in the summer as the Manchester City playmaker doubled the lead in the 26th minute.
"I thought they [Rice and Grealish] took their goals really well. Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game," he said.
"Jack definitely doesn't have anything to prove to us, we can see his quality, but today will have done him the world of good, getting another goal for England and hopefully he can continue that form."
The new England manager also opted to start Anthony Gordon on the left wing after the Newcastle United winger had struggled for minutes on the pitch under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.
"On a really dry sticky pitch, it's not ideal for dribblers but I thought Anthony was a real threat. He's carried on his form from last season and he looks a really dangerous player," enthused Carsley of Gordon, who got all three of his shots on target and played two key passes.
The manager played his part in ending Ireland's four-game unbeaten run against the Three Lions on home soil (W1 D3), though England could have made their dominance pay more.
"I think you've got to give Ireland credit as well, they are very resilient, they closed the gaps and our space maybe became a bit wider [in the second half]," reflected Carsley.
"We found it a little bit more difficult to get through them but at 2-0 we were quite comfortable."
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