Atletico held by 10-man Getafe as Benzema double saves Real

Atletico Madrid slipped up again in La Liga on Saturday as they failed to break down 10-man Getafe in a goalless draw that gives further encouragement to Barcelona and Real Madrid in the title race.

Real Madrid had earlier come from behind to beat Elche 2-1 thanks to a late double from Karim Benzema, with Atletico’s stalemate meaning the gap is down to six points between the city rivals.

Barcelona, meanwhile, can move to within four points of the leaders by beating bottom club Huesca today.

Diego Simeone’s side have now won only two of their last seven games in all competitions, with a trip to Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Atletico will be attempting to overturn a 1-0 deficit at Stamford Bridge.

“We did everything we could but the ball wouldn’t go in. We have to take a point,” said goalkeeper

up is not an option for Soniia Cheah, no matter how tough the going gets.

And the 28-year-old women’s singles player is well aware that it will only get tougher since she turned independent last month.

This week, in the All England, Soniia will open her campaign against former world champion P.V.Sindhu of India.

Acknowledging that it will be a tall order to upstage the Indian ace, Soniia is hoping it won’t take long before she starts delivering decent results.

“My start to the season has been poor, but I am not giving up yet.

“I always remind myself that it is a miracle that I am still playing badminton today following a horrible injury in 2013 (Achilles tendon).

“Even the doctors said it would be impossible for me to make a return. But even after three years on the sidelines, I made my return to top-flight badminton.

“I’m thankful to the sponsors who have come forward to support me, and I will do my best to repay their trust,” said Soniia, who recently secured Top Glove, redONE and Yonex as her sponsors.

Currently ranked No 32 in the world, Soniia has also virtually qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as the highest-ranked Malaysian women’s singles.

“It is everyone’s dream to play in the Olympics. But nobody wants to lose.

“I’m like that too. I want to make my country proud. Winning and losing is part and parcel of sports, and people will criticise when you don’t do well.

“Hopefully, I will start delivering good results soon,” added Soniia, who suffered three first-round defeats at the Yonex and Toyota Thailand Opens, as well as the recent Swiss Open in Basel.