Atletico beats Athletic Bilbao to move to second place in La Liga

Atletico Madrid moved closer to the Spanish league lead by defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on Wednesday.

Angel Correa scored in the first half and Yannick Carrasco struck in the second to leave Atletico within four points of leader Barcelona,

Third-place Sevilla hosts Las Palmas later Wednesday.

Defending champion Real Madrid, seven points off the lead, hosts Real Betis.

It was the second consecutive win for Atletico, which was coming off a 1-0 victory against last-place Malaga in the inaugural match at its Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday. Diego Simeone's team remains unbeaten after five rounds.

Correa opened the scoring from inside the area after a cross by Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion in the 55th minute, and Carrasco added to the lead with a low shot into the far corner after a well-placed pass by Antoine Griezmann in the 73rd.

Griezmann had also helped set up the first goal with a pass to Koke.

Raul Garcia netted an injury time goal for Athletic, which has now lost two in a row after an unbeaten start.

Barcelona routed Eibar 6-1 on Tuesday with four goals by Lionel Messi to keep its perfect record after five matches.

In the other matches, Leganes and Girona gained a point each when the match between the two ended in a goalles draw.

Deportivo La Coruna managed to beat Alaves thanks to a 1-0 victory.

The goal was scored byLuisinho in the last moments of the first half.

Benzema to stay with Real Madrid until end of 2021 season

Real Madrid says it has extended the contract of Karim Benzema until the end of the 2021 season.

The French striker's current contract was valid until the end of the 2019 campaign.

Spanish media says Benzema's buyout clause will remain at 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's clause.

The 29-year-old Benzema has been playing with Madrid since 2009. He will be 33 if he stays until the end of his new contract.

Benzema has scored one goal in six appearances this season.

Madrid recently also extended the contracts of veteran left back Marcelo, attacking midfielder Francisco "Isco" Alarcon and right back Dani Carvajal.

Atletico Madrid's stadium hosts 2019 Champions League final

UEFA says Atletico Madrid's new stadium will host the 2019 Champions League final.

The 68,000-capacity Metropolitano Stadium officially opened last week as the new home for Atletico, which lost the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals against city rival Real Madrid.

The Metropolitano beat the Olympic Stadium in Baku, which was rewarded with hosting the 2019 Europa League final.

Baku's Europa League duty will come one year before the 70,000-seat stadium hosts four games, including a quarterfinal match, at the 2020 European Championship.

In a seven-city contest, the 2019 Super Cup was awarded to the Besiktas Arena in Istanbul. It was a losing bidder for the Europa League rights.

UEFA has returned to competitive bid contests after years of awarding finals to favored cities. Yesterday Ath Bilbao-Atl. Madrid .................... 1-2 Leganes-Girona ............................... 0-0 Dep. La Coruna-Alaves .................... 1-0 Real Madrid-Betis ........................... late Sevilla-Las Palmas ........................... late

SPAIN Standings

Barcelona Atl. Madrid Sevilla Valencia Real Sociedad Real Madrid Ath Bilbao Leganes Las Palmas Betis Villarreal Levante Eibar Girona Getafe Dep. La Coruna Espanyol Celta Vigo Alaves Malaga 5 5 4 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 5 4 4 5 5 5 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 0 3 2 2 3 2 3 5 5 17 10 6 9 11 9 4 3 5 5 6 5 3 3 3 6 3 5 0 1 2 15 4 11 1 10 3 9 7 9 4 8 3 7 3 7 7 6 7 6 5 6 4 6 10 6 5 5 4 4 11 4 8 4 7 3 8 0 11 0