European roundup: Rayo Vallecano stun Barça as Inter make Coppa Italia final

Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of La Liga as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano thanks to goals in each half from Álvaro García and Fran García.

With seven games to play, Barça are top of the league on 76 points, 11 ahead second-placed Real Madrid, who were also stunned 4-2 at lowly Girona on Tuesday. Rayo Vallecano are ninth on 43 points, four adrift of the European qualification spots.

Rayo halted Barça’s seven game unbeaten streak in the league with a gutsy performance in front of their fans at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas. They were the better side for most of the match against a slapdash Barça and opened the scoring in 19th minute after Sergio Camello challenged Gavi and quickly fed Álvaro García who riffled an unstoppable low shot past Marc-André ter Stegen.

Rayo got back on top in the second half and extended their lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a great effort from Fran García, who stole the ball from Frenkie de Jong in midfield and ran through the heart of the Barça defence to score with a tidy finish past Ter Stegen. Barça cut the deficit through Robert Lewandowski, who latched on to a loose ball inside the box and drilled it into the net in the 83rd minute.

Atlético Madrid recovered from conceding an early goal to beat Real Mallorca, a result that put them two points behind their second-placed city rivals Real Madrid.

Celebrating their 120th anniversary in front of a nearly sold-out Metropolitano stadium and wearing a blue and white kit inspired by the one they used in their first match in 1903, Atlético fell behind in the 19th minute after Mallorca defender Matija Nastasic scored with a header from a corner. But Atlético took control of the match,