Thursday, 17 April 2014 00:00
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Reuters: The underdogs kept their noses in front as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 to stay top of the Premier League and Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Getafe to increase their lead in La Liga after Barcelona slipped up at lowly Granada.
AS Roma beat Atalanta to keep the title race alive in Italy and Paris St Germain suffered a surprise loss to Olympique Lyon which slowed their Ligue 1 title charge.
Liverpool overcame Manchester City 3-2 in a dramatic game at Anfield on Sunday to remain two points clear at the top of the Premier League with four games remaining.
Early goals by Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel put Liverpool in charge but City fought back through David Silva and a Glen Johnson own goal before Philippe Coutinho struck the winner 12 minutes from time.
Chelsea overcame 10-man Swansea City 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal by Demba Ba and they are Liverpool’s closest challengers with the two club’s meeting at Anfield on April 27 looking like a potential title decider.
City stayed third, seven points behind the leaders but with two games in hand.
Arsenal will play Hull City in the FA Cup final after the Premier League sides saw off spirited lower-tier opponents in the semi-finals at Wembley.
Arsenal needed a late equaliser by German defender Per Mertesacker to salvage a 1-1 draw against holders Wigan Athletic before winning a penalty shootout 4-2 to stay on course for their first major trophy in nine years.
Hull fought back from 2-1 down at halftime against third tier Sheffield United to win 5-3 and reach the final for the first time in their history.
Atletico Madrid moved a step closer to a first title in almost two decades when Diego Godin and Diego Costa scored in a 2-0 win at 10-man Getafe on Sunday that stretched their advantage at the top to three points.
The surprise leaders ahead of much wealthier rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, Atletico are well-placed with five games left to become the first club other than the big two to win Spain’s domestic league since Valencia in 2004.
Barca surrendered second place to Real on Saturday when they followed their Champions League elimination at the hands of Atletico with a shock 1-0 defeat at Granada. Real thumped Almeria 4-0 at the Bernabeu.
Atletico have 82 points, with Real in second on 79 and Barca, who host Atletico on the final day of the season, on 78.
