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LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — There could be unlikely league winners in England and Spain this season, with Liverpool and Atletico Madrid maintaining their strong play Sunday.
Liverpool is two points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League after a 3-2 victory over third-place Manchester City. Atletico leads La Liga, three points in front of Real Madrid, following a 2-1 win at Getafe.
A look at Europe's main leagues:
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ENGLAND
Liverpool took command of the Premier League title race by beating City on a day of remembrance at Anfield. Chelsea also has matters in its hands after a 1-0 win at Swansea.
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 winner in the 78th minute against City.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was in tears as he embraced his teammates and made a rousing speech afterward. The game was played against a backdrop of tributes marking the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died.
City is seven points behind Liverpool with two games in hand. Chelsea stayed in control of its fate after Demba Ba's goal secured three points in the game in Wales.
Liverpool leads Chelsea by two points with four games left, but they meet at Anfield in two weeks in what is likely to be a defining match.
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 carried off with a bloody leg after scoring Atletico Madrid's second goal in a 2-0 win at 10-man Getafe. The team said the injury to the star striker was not serious. Atletico extended its Spanish league lead to three points with five rounds to play as it closes in on a surprising title.
Costa slammed into the post and hurt his left shin while poking in his 26th goal of the season in the 84th minute. Teammates looked distraught as he writhed on the field. The medical crew carried him off while he covered his face and muffled his screams.
Atletico said less than 10 minutes after the match on Twitter that "luckily Diego Costa only has a cut after hitting the post."
Defender Diego Godin gave Atletico the lead in the 40th before Getafe's Alexis Ruano was dismissed with a red card in the 66th. Goalkeeper Jordi Codina saved Costa's penalty kick.
Atletico took advantage of Barcelona's loss Saturday to open 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 and boost its hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.
Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter. Sampdoria played most of the match with 10 men after Eder drew a second yellow card for his part in a brawl.
Inter remained fifth but will be boosted 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.
Chievo Verona beat Livorno 4-2 in a relegation battle while Torino downed Genoa 2-1.
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GERMANY
Bayer Leverkusen scored the fastest goal of the season — a header after 40 seconds by Stefan Kiessling — and beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 in the Bundesliga return for its new coach. It moved up one place into fourth.
Hoffenheim defeated 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 to trail third-place Lille by seven points in the French league.
Serge Gakpe scored for Nantes in a 1-0 victory over Guingamp, helping his team inch closer to the safety zone.
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