No honor guard for Real Madrid as Atletico beat champions

MADRID: After keeping a promise that it wouldn’t give Real Madrid an honor guard before the game, Atletico Madrid went on to beat the newly crowned Spanish league champion 1-0 Sunday and moved closer to securing a Champions League spot.

Atletico clinched the victory in the last city derby of the season with a 40th-minute penalty kick converted by Yannick Carrasco.

The win gave fourth-place Atletico a six-point advantage over fifth-place Real Betis, the first team outside the Champions League spots with three rounds to go. Betis lost 2-1 at home to second-place Barcelona on Saturday.

Sevilla stayed one point in front of Atlético after salvaging a stoppage-time 1-1 draw at Villarreal earlier Sunday.

Madrid clinched their record-extending 35th league title last weekend with a 4-0 home win against Espanyol.

Madrid’s fans wanted Atletico to keep a tradition whereby players line up to applaud their opponents as they enter the field before kickoff. But Atletico said ahead of the match that they were not going to do this to avoid upsetting their fans at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Madrid were coming off their epic victory over Manchester City to advance to the Champions League final.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti rested some of his regular starters, including goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, midfielder Luka Modric, forward Vinícius Júnior and striker Karim Benzema. Modric and Vinícius came on as second-half substitutes.

Rodrygo, who scored twice late to force extra time against Man City on Wednesday, started the game.

Atletico had won only one of its last six games in all competitions — 2-1 against Espanyol in the Spanish league two rounds ago. Since then it had drawn at home against relegation-threatened Granada and lost at