Sevilla and Atletico in tough fight for 3rd spot

madrid — The fight for third place has intensified in the Spanish league, with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla looking to secure the final automatic spot for next season’s Champions League.

Both teams have 68 points with four games left. Atletico are ahead on the head-to-head tiebreaker, but their attention is split between the league and the semifinals of the Champions League.

The Spanish league title will likely go to either Barcelona or Real Madrid, which both have 78 points at the top.

The top three teams automatically qualify for the Champions League, while the fourth-place club has to go through a playoff.

Sevilla appeared to have third place secured until not long ago, being as many as nine points in front of Atletico. But they endured a run of five winless games, including a 3-1 loss to Atletico at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Atletico won seven of eight matches to move past Sevilla, and they had been carrying a three-point lead in the last few rounds until a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Villarreal on Tuesday. Sevilla capitalised by beating Celta Vigo 2-1 at home on Thursday, leaving the teams even again entering the final rounds.

“We knew this was a crucial game in the fight for third place,” Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli said. “We caught up to them again and we are already focused on what we need to do on Monday.” Sevilla play at Malaga on Monday, while Atletico visit Las Palmas on Saturday.

Atletico, the third force in Spanish soccer behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, won’t be able to fully focus on the fight for third because they are also playing in the Champions League. The first leg of the semifinals against city rival Madrid is next week at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Atletico are trying to win the European competition for the first time. They lost the 2014 and 2016 finals to Madrid.

“Our goal won’t change and we will keep defending this third position,” Atletico captain Gabi Fernandez said. “We will be fighting until the end in these last four matches. We will remain motivated to achieve this goal.” Atletico won the league title in 2014 and finished third in 2013, 2015 and 2016.