Atletico Madrid relinquished a two-goal lead in its 4-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish league in another setback for the club after it was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Barcelona struck a potentially decisive blow in La Liga’s title race with a 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano. Diego Simeone’s home team went ahead through Julian Alvarez in the 45th minute — with the Argentina forward banishing memories of his ‘two-touch’ penalty in Atletico’s Champions League round-of-16 exit to Real Madrid in midweek.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone remains optimistic about the club's title chances after Sunday's 4-2 LaLiga defeat to Barcelona, saying the loss was not down to bad luck but lack of consistency.