Atletico see off Valencia to close gap on Barca

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Angel Correa’s thunderbolt earned Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Valencia on Sunday, helping them to close the gap on Barcelona to nine points at the top of La Liga. In a predictably tight game between the second and third-placed clubs at the Wanda Metropolitano few chances were created but Atletico had the upper hand, with Neto tipping away a Saul Niguez piledriver from some distance and then repelling Diego Costa’s header from a corner. Correa broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion in the 59th minute, receiving the ball from Koke and crashing a shot into the top right corner from outside the area for his sixth league goal of the season. It was enough to help Atletico move closer to Barcelona, who dropped two points earlier after drawing 1-1 at local rivals Espanyol.