SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) -Midfielder Pablo Barrios scored deep in added time to give Atletico Madrid a much-needed 2-1 LaLiga win at Sevilla on Sunday that ended their month-long six-game winless run in all competitions.
Eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 on penalties by old rivals Real Madrid and knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the semi-finals by Barcelona, Atletico kept their slim hopes of claiming the LaLiga title alive after leaders Barca and Real both dropped points on Saturday.
Diego Simeone's Atletico moved on to 60 points, three behind Real who slumped to a 2-1 home defeat by Valencia while Barca were held 1-1 by Betis and are comfortable at the top on 67 points with eight games left. Sevilla are 11th on 36 points.
The match had a promising start with French midfielder Lucien Agoume opening the scoring for Sevilla with a thunderous strike and Julian Alvarez equalising with a tidy finish from the penalty spot after Conor Galagher was fouled in the25thminute.
But it petered out into a dour clash until Barrios made a great run through the middle and unleashed a bullet strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
It was a hard-fought win that Simeone celebrated enthusiastically, ending a miserable month after Atletico had looked to be genuine contenders for three major titles.
They were going head to head with Barca and Real in the LaLiga standings and secured direct qualification to the Champions League round of 16, enjoying a two-month unbeaten streak just a little over four weeks ago.
A heartbreaking home loss on penalties to local rivals Real in the Champions League, however, was followed by a 4-2 home LaLiga defeat by Barca in which they allowed their rivals to fight back from two goals down.
With elimination from the Spanish Cup on Wednesday, Atletico's last hope is LaLiga, and Barrio's goal kept that dream alive.
"We needed this win so badly," captain Koke told Movistar Plus.
"After the first goal, which was a blow early on, we bounced back and changed the result. We deserved the win, and this is the line to follow, there is a lot of commitment from everyone and there is no other way to face it as match by match.
"It's been a tough few days for us, because when things don't go the way and you want them to, it's even more annoying."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Ed Osmond)
