BARCELONA, Spain -- Diego Costa sparked Atletico Madrids exhilarating 2-1 comeback at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, while Lionel Messi converted a late penalty to keep Barcelona one point behind the Spanish league leaders with a contentious 1-0 win at Espanyol. Cristiano Ronaldo scored as well before Gareth Bale netted a brace as Real Madrid routed Rayo Vallecano 5-0 at home, breaking a rare two-game losing streak and keeping their team within three points of the pacesetters. A tireless Diego Costa cancelled out Iker Muniains opener before Koke "Jorge" Resurreccion followed with a 55th-minute header to keep Atletico on course in its search for its first league title since 1996. Messi made sure Barcelona stayed right behind Atletico with seven games left by slotting in a spot kick in the 77th when Espanyol defender Javi Lopez handled in the area. Ronaldo leads the league with 28 goals through 31 games. Diego Costa is next with 25, trailed by Messi with 23. Barcelona hosts Atletico on Tuesday in the Champions League quarterfinals, a preview of their meeting in the last round of the Spanish league season. Diego Costa was a nightmare for Bilbaos defence, and could have had at least one more goal given the number of opportunities he fought hard to create. He did help leave Bilbao with 10 men by earning a second yellow card for Aymeric Laporte in the 86th. "Diego Costa is huge for us," said Koke. "We have seen that from the start of the season and I only hope he keeps it up. We knew that we were visiting a tough ground and the game was like we expected. Diego (Costa) had space to roam and we found him. Then we turned it around." Muniain took advantage of a rare defensive lapse by Atletico to hit six minutes in when he chased down a pass touched on by Aritz Aduriz and used one touch to lob the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Atleticos answer came in the 22nd when Koke intercepted Ander Iturraspes ill-advised pass and left Diego Costa alone to beat goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz. After Diego Costa almost struck again seconds after the restart, Koke played Filipe Luis wide and ran forward to nod his returned cross into the net to momentarily silence the raucous San Mames crowd. Diego Simeones side still needed Courtois one-handed stretch to swat away Adurizs header with 10 minutes to play. Simeone called his teams game the "best of the season." "We are aware of the great match we played," said Simone. "We went straight at recovering the ball and exploiting the space up front for Diego (Costa). We didnt waste time despite falling behind. We always knew how we wanted to play." Bilbao was left in fourth place and in control of the last Champions League spot with a six-point advantage over Sevilla after it lost 1-0 at Celta Vigo from Manuel "Nolito" Agudos 87th-minute penalty. Espanyols physical style kept Messi and the crosstown visitors in check until Lopez was whistled, allowing Messi to score the spot kick for his eighth goal in his last four games and save Barcelona from a costly draw. Barcelona was fortunate, however, that the referee did not see the ball hit Lopez after Dani Alves cross first ricocheted off Neymars arm, as television replays appeared to show. "Derbies are always tough, and this was a tense game with lots of interruptions, fouls and controversy," Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "Three weeks ago we were in a difficult situation. Now we are in a privileged one and control our fate. I hope it stays like that until the last game against Atletico." Espanyol played the last seven minutes and injury time with 10 men after goalkeeper Kiko Casilla used his hands outside the box. Lopez had to take over goalkeeping duties with Espanyols three substitutes already made and played admirably, making two saves. Ronaldo and Bale were the main attractions in an otherwise dreary, rainy, and lopsided match at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo opened from Bales pass in the 15th before setting up Dani Carvajal in the 55th. Bale scored twice on the break in the 68th and 70th. Substitute Alvaro Morata curled in Madrids fifth in the 78th. Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey . According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback. Martin Maldonado Astros Jersey . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. https://www.cheapastros.com/1103o-don-wi...y-astros.html.Y. -- The "for sale" sign is up at the Buffalo Bills with the hiring of financial and legal advisers who may begin talking with prospective buyers within the next month. Myles Straw Astros Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Carlos Correa Jersey . The Boston Celtics hadnt played since the All-Star break. So the Suns 100-94 victory over Boston Wednesday night was an uphill affair, with Phoenix relying on balance rather than its trademark high energy.NEW YORK -- Even as the NBA prepares for a draft that could be headlined by freshmen, Commissioner Adam Silver remains committed to keeping them in college. So much so that NCAA President Mark Emmert was invited to discuss his involvement with owners. Silver is moving cautiously on potential changes to areas such as the lottery format and playoff structure, but makes it clear that raising the draft age limit to abolish the so-called "one and done" is one of his priorities. Freshmen Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and Jabari Parker of Duke are expected to be top-five picks in June, but Silver believes teams are taking those players young because of the system in place, not because its their preference. "The fact that our teams would draft these players if they were coming out of high school as they used to, or one year out of college, I think doesnt mean change isnt necessary," Silver said Friday. The age limit requiring American players to be 19 and a year out of high school was implemented in 2005, creating a system where players would simply go to college for a year and then declare for the draft. Silver and predecessor David Stern have long spoken about the desire to increase the limit to 20. But no change, which would have to be discussed with the union, was made during the last round of collective bargaining in 2011. The sides havent been able to have much serious discussion since then. The union has been without an executive director since ousting Billy Hunter 14 months ago, but Silvers desire for change remains. "Were ready to go," Silver said. "Weve been thinking about this issue for a long time." Silver said a change was unlikely for next season, and a transition period would be necessary whenever one was made. In the meantime, he wants the NCAA part of the discussion, so Emmert addressed owners during the two-day meetings. "One thing that we also agree on iss that historically what youve heard is that the age issue is one that needs to be negotiated almost in isolation between the NBA and its union.dddddddddddd What Dr. Emmert and I agree on is that the NCAA needs to have a seat at the table, as well, for those discussions," Silver said, "that if we are going to be successful in raising the age from 19 to 20, part and parcel of those negotiations go to the treatment of those players on college campuses, that closing the gap between what their scholarships cover and their other incidental expenses, having a longer discussion about eligibility periods so they can make the best decisions for them and their families if they do decide to come out early." Overseeing his first board meeting since replacing Stern in February, Silver seems open to considering anything to improve the league. Owners heard a discussion on ways to change the lottery system, which could be a way to erase the desire to "tank" -- seeking a poor record to have the best chances at the No. 1 pick. Silver said there was also discussion about redesigning the playoff structure to qualify the top 16 teams, rather than the top eight in each conference. Phoenix, which finished ninth in the West with 48 wins, wouldve tied for third in the East. But Silver said those items should be discussed first at length by the competition committee. "For me, the league is doing so well right now, I just want to be very deliberate and cautious about any major changes like that," Silver said. "It doesnt mean that we shouldnt make changes." Silver also said owners werent ready to vote on the potential sale of the Milwaukee Bucks yet, though that could happen soon once owners could review all the financial documents. Owner Herb Kohl reached agreement to sell the franchise to New York investment firm executives Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens for about $550 million. ' ' '