Barcelona forced to wait for fourth La Liga title after Bilbao draw

Barcelona: Spanish giants Barcelona will have to wait for a while to clinch a fourth La Liga title in five seasons following their 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

The Catalans needed to win their match and hope that arch rivals Real Madrid lost their derby game against Atletico Madrid to guarantee the title, but neither result transpired as Real beat their city rivals 2-1 to reduce the arrears to 11 points. Coupled with a Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in midweek, Barcelona had a further shock when Bilbao took the lead in the 27th minute when Markel Susaeta scored from close range, although forward Lionel Messi steered his club back into the match in the 67th minute. Atletico remain in third, 13 points ahead of fourth-place Real Sociedad who can close the gap if they beat Valencia on Sunday, the report added. ANI