Most fans would be upset or disappointed with a draw. Not fans of Atletico Madrid! Their team tied with Barcelona 1-1 in the final regular season match and won La Liga and are now crowned the Spanish Champions. Barcelona had a realistic shot to take the title, but Atleti came through with the draw to win! It sounds funny I know, but Barcelona will finish the regular season tied with Real Madrid for 2nd place with 27 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses. Atletico ends the season with a 28-6-4 record. Atleti’s defense has always been the best in La Liga, only allowing 26 goals scored against them, and they proved it earlier today by holding Barcelona to just one goal. Lionel Messi was held scoreless, as Alexis Sanchez scored the first goal in the 33rd minute for Barcelona. Then in the 49th minute, veteran defender Diego Godin‘s header equalized the match for Atletico Madrid. After the match, Barcelona’s manager, Gerardo “Tata” Martino announced that he will no longer coach the team. His fear of failure had come true and he let down a team that was poised for victory. Atleti won their first La Liga title since 1996, showing how much of an upset it must have been for Barcelona’s club to fall short.
In other soccer news, Arsenal won the FA Cup in dramatic fashion against Hull City. After being down 2-0 eight minutes into the match, the Gunners came roaring back with three goals to win it all, 3-2. Santi Cazorla started off the fireworks in the 17th minute with a free kick. Fast forward to the 71st minute, Laurent Koscielny knocked in a goal and then the match went into extra minutes. Things were looking tense, until Aaron Ramsey scored the game-winner! It was a match for the ages and Arsenal ended up on top. It was a big day for soccer fans, but now they have to wait until May 24th for that ultimate showdown between Real Madrid and newly crowned La Liga champions Atletico Madrid. What a match that will be!
The Basket Foot 