BARCELONA, Spain -- Atletico Madrid dramatically secured its first Spanish league title in 18 years by rallying for a 1-1 draw at Barcelona on Saturday. Dave Dravecky Jersey . Atletico lost Diego Costa and Arda Turan to injury inside 22 minutes, and Barcelona seized control at the Camp Nou in the 34th minute when Alexis Sanchez drove an unstoppable shot into the near corner. Despite the setback, Atletico emerged from the break determined to get back in the match. David Villa hit the post, then Diego Godin fiercely headed home Kokes corner in the 49th. Atletico needed to avoid defeat to secure the title, and it weathered Barcelonas pressure in a frantic finish to cap an improbable domestic success. Atleticos 10th title meant a club besides Barcelona or Real Madrid was Spanish champion for the first time since Valencia in 2004. "Today we could make history," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "Not at any moment did I feel that the game was getting away from my team. I know them. I knew they could respond, and the bigger the challenge, the better." Even the 90,000-strong Camp Nou crowd appreciated the feat as it rained cheers of "Atleti" on the players as they celebrated a title triumph that looked uncertain after it lost two of its best attacking players. Atletico finished the 38-game season with 90 points. Barcelona finished second on 87, the same tally as Real Madrid after it closed the season with a 3-1 win over Espanyol. "We fought all season long, hanging on against difficult teams, and against Real Madrid and Barcelona," Godin said. "We felt the pressure, a lot of things were going against us. But the coach told us just to be confident, and believe in ourselves, and the goal would come." It was only the third time the championship was decided by two challengers on the final day, and the first time since 1951. Atletico did it the first time in 1946. Atletico contained Lionel Messi for the sixth time this season as the Argentina forward had a second-half goal ruled offside to keep him off the scoresheet. Not since Espanyol in 1939-40 has a club gone unbeaten in six games in a season against Barcelona. Five of those matches were draws and Atleticos lone victory knocked the Catalan side out of the Champions League. As expected, coach Gerardo Martino said he was stepping down after Barcelona finished the season without a major trophy for the first time since 2008. "We tried it until the end with dignity and we met an opponent that was better than we were," Martino said. "I want to congratulate the great rival Atletico has been during the entire season." Real Madrid will be Atleticos next challenge as the city rivals face off in the Champions League final next Saturday. Both Diego Costa and Turan wept on leaving the pitch after Diego Costa came up lame following a sprint in the 14th, and Turan went out after knocking his right hip. Alexis undid Atleticos defence with a powerful strike from a tight angle after Messi chested down Cesc Fabregas pass and smartly stepped aside for Alexis to smash the ball inside the post. Instead of collapsing, Atletico showed characteristic toughness by finishing the half well with a flurry of corner kicks that Barcelona barely defended. Simeone, who was playing for Atletico the last time the club won the title in 1996, said he told his team at halftime that they were still in it despite trailing and missing two of their most important players in attack. After his pleas for the referee to blow the final whistle were at last answered, several Atletico players collapsed to the ground while Simeone, his staff, and reserves rushed out to join them. Simeone was tossed in the air by his players before the Argentine went into the stands to embrace his father. Earlier, Gareth Bale helped Madrid beat Espanyol after Cristiano Ronaldo apparently aggravated a leg muscle problem during pre-game warmups and didnt play. Valencia also beat Celta Vigo 2-1. Tim Lincecum Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Brandon Crawford Giants Jersey .com) - The Winnipeg Jets got over one hurdle by snapping their longest losing streak of the season.TORONTO - If you had just started watching Raptors basketball two days prior you wouldnt have recognized the team that was run out of their own building Friday night. Coming off their most encouraging victory of the season in Memphis Wednesday, the Raptors were out-muscled, out-worked and ultimately out-played against a Chicago Bulls team missing their star point guard. The Bulls - as they tend to do, with or without Derrick Rose - set the tone with their defence in the opening minutes. By the time the buzzer sounded 24 minutes into the contest, the Raptors booed off the floor by their home fans, Toronto had mustered just 31 points on 26 per cent shooting. "Theres nothing redeeming about tonight," said Dwane Casey, who later relented and cited DeMar DeRozan as the lone redeeming spot on the night. "Tonight was one of those stinkers that you have. We were mentally fried, physically fried but this is the NBA [and] theres no excuses. That wasnt us. Weve had stretches like that but not an entire game, the way we were running in mud." DeRozan, just 3-of-9 at the half, caught fire late in the third quarter. He scored 28 of his career-high matching 37 points in the second half, including 19 of the Raptors 21 points during a stretch that extended into the fourth quarter. He couldnt miss, knocking down off-balance jumpers, four three-pointers and crowning Joakim Noah on a tomahawk slam. If it was conceivable for the Raptors guard to bring his team back on his own at that point he may have, he certainly tried. But it was a little too little too late. "I just wanted to win," DeRozan said solemnly after his offensive outburst was wasted in a game that was lost early in the first half. "Thats the only thing. Just looking at the score, I knew it was going to be tough. Its just my passion, just trying to win." "He was the one redeeming spot tonight," Casey eventually acknowledged. "The way he came out in the second half, but its a 48 minute game. Youve ggot to start the game out that way.Angel Pagan Jersey. " First Half Credit the Bulls and their defence for what turned out to be a nightmare of a first half for the Raptors offence. The same team that registered 11 assists and hit 7-of-9 three-point attempts in the first half of Wednesdays game against a quality opponent had just seven dimes and missed all seven shots from long range. The Raptors were routinely pushed around under the rim, as the Bulls front line of Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng got the visitors off to a quick start on both ends of the floor. "You cant allow someone to come in your home and outwork you like that," Casey said. "Its hard to get to the basket on them," DeRozan admitted. "They all load in. Theyre a good defensive team so youve got to find counters and different ways to try and get to the basket." However, the game was lost on the other end, where the Raptors failed to match Chicagos defensive effort. With Rose on the sideline - ruled out prior to the game, nursing a sore right hamstring - the Bulls didnt miss a beat. They moved the ball with precision and shredded Toronto in the paint, outscoring them 26-18. "Mental frustration I think is more than anything else," Casey said. "We allowed them to do that. Youve got to make a team miss. We didnt play with the desperation weve played with this week." Regrouping With five of their next six games at home, the Raptors will benefit from more practice time, something they expect to take advantage of immediately as they return to the gym on Saturday to reflect on this loss. "Its a long season, its a marathon," Casey pointed out. "But its how you bounce back from these types of games that define you." "I dont want to get too overly alarmed because you have those. You have about five or six of those a year but we cant make it a habit." Toronto is back in action at the ACC Sunday afternoon when they host the Portland Trail Blazers. wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
