Real Madrid on Sunday night failed to take full advantage of slip-ups by the La Liga league leaders Atletico Madrid and Barcelona when they needed a fantastic Cristiano Ronaldo volley in stoppage time to rescue a 2-2 home draw against Valencia.
Victory for Atletico at Levante would have meant they needed only a win at home to Malaga next weekend to secure top spot and render their final match at Barca the following week irrelevant. However, an own goal from Filipe Luis in the seventh minute and a neat finish from David Barral 21 minutes from time meant Atletico will almost certainly need to beat the champions as well to secure their first title since 1996.
With two matches left, Atletico lead with 88 points, three ahead of second-placed Barca. Real, on 83 points in third, have a game in hand at Real Valladolid on Wednesday when a win would lift them above Barca. There is a genuine chance that if they beat Atletico on the last day Barca would hand the title to their bitter rivals Real, while a win against Malaga and even a draw at the Nou Camp will see Atletico crowned champions.
This makes the Barcelona, Atletico clash at the Camp Nou a mouth-watering affair. The Catalans still smarting from their Champions League loss against the Los Rojiblancos will be geared up for revenge. A win could see them and the season tied with Atletico on points, however that would give bitter rivals Real Madrid the edge in the title race.
However, if Barca win both their remaining fixtures and Ancelotti's Galacticos slip up then they could end up as Champions and salvage Tata Martino's lukewarm season, and quite possibly save his job. Before Saturday's result, Barca needed only to win their matches and they would be league champions, but an unlikely weekend which saw all three slip-up has added another twist to this three-horse race.
Atletico are still favourites despite their defeat by Levante, but with all three title challengers stuttering this weekend, there could be more twists and turns ahead.
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