Liverpool, Atletico continue sparkling form


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LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool and Atletico Madrid kept up their good form with wins on Sunday to increase the likelihood of some unlikely league winners in England and Spain.

Liverpool is two points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League after a 3-2 victory over third-place Manchester City, while Atletico leads La Liga by three points over Real Madrid following a 2-1 win at Getafe.

Here is a look at the action across Europe's main leagues:

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ENGLAND

Liverpool took command of the captivating Premier League title race by beating Manchester City in a match of wide-ranging emotions at Anfield, although Chelsea also has matters in its own hands after a 1-0 win at Swansea on Sunday.

Hull's 5-3 victory over third-tier Sheffield United in the second FA Cup semifinal, which set up a meeting with Arsenal in the final, was overshadowed by the latest installment in the fight for the league title that still has some way to run.

Seeking a first championship in 24 years, Liverpool is the favorite after taking its winning streak to 10 games thanks to Philippe Coutinho's match-clinching strike in the 78th minute against City.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was in tears as he embraced his teammates and made a rousing speech at the end of an emotional contest that was played to a backdrop of tributes marking the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died.

City is now seven points behind Liverpool with two games in hand, while Chelsea stayed in control of its own fate after Demba Ba's goal secured three points in south Wales.

Liverpool is two points clear of Chelsea with four games left but the pair meet at Anfield in two weeks in what is likely to be a defining match in the race for the title.

Ba's winner in the 68th minute — a left-foot strike from the edge of the area — ended Swansea's stubborn resistance, with the hosts forced to play most of the match with 10 men following the 16th-minute dismissal of Chico Flores for two yellow cards.

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SPAIN

Diego Costa was injured while scoring Atletico Madrid's second goal in a 2-0 win at 10-man Getafe on Sunday as the team extended its Spanish league lead with five rounds to play but possibly lost its star striker.

Costa slammed into the post while poking in his 26th goal of the season in the 84th minute, hurting his left shin and requiring the stadium's medical crew to carry him off the pitch while he covered his face and muffled his screams.

Defender Diego Godin gave Atletico the lead in the 40th before Getafe's Alexis Ruano was dismissed with a red card in the 66th, with goalkeeper Jordi Codina saving Costa's penalty.

Atletico took advantage of Barcelona's loss on Saturday to open up a three-point lead over Real Madrid with Barcelona another point behind.

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ITALY

Mauro Icardi scored twice to help Inter Milan beat 10-man Sampdoria 4-0 in Serie A on Sunday and boost its hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.

Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter while Lopez had a penalty saved. Sampdoria played most of the match with 10 men after Eder was shown a second yellow card for his part in a brawl.

Inter remained fifth but was helped by Parma's 1-1 draw at Bologna and Lazio's 4-2 defeat at Napoli. Hellas Verona's slim European hopes diminished as it lost 5-3 at home to Fiorentina.

Also, Chievo Verona beat Livorno 4-2 in a relegation battle, while Torino earned a 2-1 win against Genoa.

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GERMANY

Bayer Leverkusen scored the fastest goal of the season 40 seconds after kickoff on Sunday and beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 in the Bundesliga return for its new coach, moving up one place into fourth.

In the late match, Hoffenheim beat Augsburg 2-0 to come within two points of its opponent in eighth place.

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FRANCE

Saint-Etienne lost ground in the race for a Champions League spot by drawing 2-2 at Reims on Sunday to trail third-place Lille by seven points in the French league.

In a Brittany derby, Serge Gakpe fired Nantes to a 1-0 win over Guingamp, helping his team inch closer to safety.

Later Sunday, runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain visited Lyon.

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