Atletico Madrid win Spanish league title

Atletico Madrid's defender Diego Godin (L)
celebrates his goal with Filipe Luis

#Atletico #Madrid claimed their 10th Spanish #league crown on Saturday but first in 18 years after coming from behind to draw 1-1 away at title rivals Barcelona.

Alexis Sanchez's stunning strike fired Barca into the lead on 33 minutes, but Diego Godin's header four minutes into the second-half was enough to give Atletico the point they needed to become the first side other than Barca and Real Madrid to win La Liga in 10 years.

A point for both sides means that Barca finish the season ahead of third-placed Real Madrid thanks to a better head-to-head record, three points adrift of Atletico.

The visitors had started brightly but were dealt a huge blow after just 15 minutes when top scorer Diego Costa pulled up with the recurrence of a hamstring injury that will also make him a huge doubt for the Champions League final against Real Madrid next weekend.

Arda Turan was then also forced off with a hip injury as Adrian Lopez and Raul Garcia entered the fray.
Barca grew into the game as the half developed and could have been ahead when Pedro Rodriguez wastefully headed over Dani Alves' precise cross from the right.

When the Catalans did go in front just after the half hour it was in spectacular fashion as Lionel Messi cushioned the ball into Sanchez's path on the right side of the area, but despite the narrow angle he managed to thrash the ball high past Thibaut Courtois at the Belgian's near post.

Atletico forced a series of corners without carving out a clear-cut chance in their search for an equaliser before the break, but the half-time whistle also brought frustration on the part of the Barca players as both Messi and Sergio Busquets were booked for dissent.

David Villa came within inches of an equaliser a minute after the restart when his low effort came back off the post and the former Barca striker had another opening moments later that was smothered by Jose Manuel Pinto in the Barca goal.

However, Diego Simeone's men only had to wait a minute longer to be level as Godin rose highest in the box to power home Gabi's corner.

Barca then suffered an injury blow of their own as Busquets had to be replaced by Alex Song, whilst Neymar was also introduced by Gerardo Martino in the search for a winner.
Messi did have the ball in the net with 25 minutes remaining, but he was flagged offside as he latched onto a loose ball inside the area.

Alves stung the palms of Courtois with an effort from 25 yards as Barca camped themselves in the Atletico half for the final 10 minutes.

However, despite piling bodies forward, Barca failed to carve out another clear opening in the final stages as Atletico saw the game out to stretch their unbeaten run against Barca to six games this season.
Source: AFP

Spanish politician Isabel Carrasco shot dead in Leon

Ms Carrasco originally trained as a lawyer before holding various positions in Leon

A top #politician in northern #Spain has been shot dead in public and two women have been arrested.

Isabel Carrasco, head of the provincial government in Leon and a member of the governing People's Party (PP), was shot as she crossed a footbridge.
Spanish media say the arrested women are the wife and daughter of a local police chief.
It is also reported that the daughter was recently fired from a job with the provincial council.
Ms Carrasco, 59, led the PP in Leon.
All the main political parties have temporarily suspended campaigning for the European elections as a mark of respect.

'Act of vengeance' Ms Carrasco was attacked on her way to a party meeting near her home at about 17:20 local time (15:20 GMT).
A police spokeswoman told AFP news agency: "We are investigating the participation of both [women] in the act."

El Pais newspaper reported that the women were the wife and daughter of the police chief of Astorga, a town in Leon province.

The scene of the shooting was a bridge over the Bernesga river in Leon

About 200 people gathered at the scene of the shooting

Police say that it is not clear who fired the shot, and that two women have been arrested

Police have yet to recover the weapon used in the attack, El Pais said.
A spokeswoman for the Spanish interior ministry said: "Everything points to it being a personal act of vengeance unrelated to her public position."

About 200 people later gathered near the scene of the shooting, including the Mayor of Leon, Emilio Gutierrez, and other local dignitaries.

'Dismayed'

Witnesses described how a woman shot at Ms Carrasco as she crossed a bridge over the River Bernesga.
Two witnesses told El Pais they heard five shots. "We thought they were firecrackers," one of them said.
In a statement, the PP said campaign events for the European elections had been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, and thanked those who had offered condolences.

Mr Rajoy said on Twitter that he was "dismayed" at Ms Carrasco's death. "It is a time to be united," he added.

#Spanish deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria also condemned the attack.
"These are moments of great consternation," she said. "We want to express our support and solidarity with Carrasco's family and to her colleagues at this hard time."

 Source: BBC News