SPAIN: Real Betis’ Andres Guardado’s match-winning goal propelled the side to move closer to fourth-placed Atletico Madrid with a victory over Almeria while Valencia failed to escape the relegation zone following a 1-2 defeat against Athletic Club.
Betis, which had been struggling in their previous fixtures amid an otherwise strong season, triumphed over Almeria 3-2 to move just one point within the fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
Midfielder Sergio Canales, deflected a floated pass by Rodri Sánchez with his chest before chipping the ball over the advancing goalkeeper with his left boot without letting the ball touch the ground in the 42nd minute to power Betis to lead 2-1.
Almeria forced level in the 62nd minute before Guardado then headed in a cross from Canales in the 70th minute to secure the victory.
Rodri opened the scoring for Betis in just the sixth minute while Luis Suárez and Samu Costa scored for Almeria in the loss.
Meanwhile, Valencia failed to escape the relegation zone despite a firm start at home against Athletic Club letting the game slip away 1-2.
Samu Castillejos put Valencia in front in just the 17th minute, only for Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet to score for sixth-placed Athletic Club and sealed the victory for the tourists.
Following the defeat, Valencia hold the 18th position with only 20 points after Cadiz escaped the drop zone on Friday with a win.
In another fixture, Sevilla stunned better-ranked Mallorca 2-0 to secure 12th position in the standings while Jorge Sampaoli’s side remained at 10th.
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BILBAO: Olhan Sancet put up a stellar performance to take Athletic Club back on the winning track as they claimed a commanding 4-1 win over Cazid in La Liga on Friday.
The Spanish forward Sancet opened the scoring for the hosts in just the 10th minute to set up a solid foundation for a dominant show over struggling Cadiz.
Gonzalo Escalante, however, struck back 15 minutes later to neutralize Athletic Club’s lead but only for Sancet to strike again and restored his side’s lead in the 35th minute.
Yeray Alvarez then joined Sancet as he struck a timely goal in the closing minutes of the first half to give his side complete command at the halfway mark.
Sancet then once again managed to breach the Cadiz defence and scored his third to propel the home side to a commanding win over weak visitors.
Following a humiliating defeat, Cadiz entered the unwanted relegation zone as they slipped to the 18th place with Valladolid one point ahead of them following their 1-0 victory over Valencia.
The Athletic Club, on the other hand, secured the seventh position with 29 points.
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SEVILLE: Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski struck a goal each to take Barcelona 2-1 up against Real Betis on Wednesday and extend their lead to eight points at the top of La Liga.
Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva made a string of excellent saves to deny Pedri before Raphinha scored from Alejandro Balde’s cross.
Betis created their chances too on and almost scored through Borja Iglesias and Sergio Canales but found Jules Kounde to block their effort.
It took 65 minutes for Barcelona to break the stalemate with Raphinha tapping the ball into the nets from close range before Lewandowski scored his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-0, 15 minutes later.
Kounde’s own goal in the 85th minute threatened to spoil the party for Barcelona but the visitor hung on to claim three points.
Following the win, Barcelona cemented their position at the top with 50 points from 19 matches, eight points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who will host Valencia on Thursday.
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VILLAREAL: Sergio Camello struck a second-half winner to take Rayo Vallecano to seventh place in the La Liga table as they beat Villarreal 1-0 at El Madrigal on Monday.
Vallecano jumps ahead of eighth-placed Osasuna with 29 points while Villareal takes fifth position and levels on point with sixth-placed Real Betis.
Barcelona, however, cemented their position at the top since they are five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who were held in a nil-nil draw by Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Vallecano dominated the home side right from the start and made a few unsuccessful attempts in the first half.
Camello broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute with a superb solo and finding the back of the back nets from the edge of the box.
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GIRONA: Pedri’s second-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and maintained their top position in the La Liga table as they beat Girona 1-0 on Saturday.
Barcelona jumped to 47 points, six ahead of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid who will host Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Girona, however, slipped to 12th and level on 21 points with 13th-placed Sevilla who later beat Elche 3-0.
Xavi Hernandez made a few adjustments to his starting lineup, which defeats Real Sociedad in Copa del Rey on Wednesday, resting key players including Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo.
Despite outplaying the opponents in the first half, Barcelona failed to create clear-cut chances. In the 14th minute, Ousmane Dembele was able to test Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but he made a crucial stop. Eleven minutes later, Dembele was forced off the field due to an injury.
Pedri broke the deadlock after the hour mark and scored the lone goal of the game.
Meanwhile, Sevilla’s convincing 3-0 win came on the back of a sensational first-half display which witnessed three goals within 20 minutes.
Youssef En-Nesyn scored a brace with Marcos Acuna striking in between to give Sevilla a comforting lead before the break.
Later Real Betis edged past Getafe 1-0 thanks to a late penalty by Borja Iglesias in the dying minutes.
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BARCELONA: The second top-scorer of the ongoing La Liga season Joseulu Mato’s strike in the stoppage time went in vain as Espanyol succumbed to a thumping 3-1 defeat at the hands of home side Almeria on Friday.
Rubi’s Almeria carried on their consistent performance to remain unbeaten in the Spanish league since the resumption after World Cup.
After being promoted for the ongoing season, the side went undefeated in the last five La Liga fixtures since the end of December and also emerged as one of the strongest teams at home with six triumphs in 10 games.
Meanwhile, in their dominant show over Espanyol, the home team got off to a somewhat unpleasant start, missing a number of opportunities until Colombia’s Luis Suarez ultimately scored the opener in the 21st minute.
Suarez’s opener injected Almeria with momentum, resulting in the side pressing Espanyol’s defence more rigorously and soon got rewarded when former Espanyol forward Leo Baptistao doubled their lead in the 61st minute.
The home side then tasted another triumph in the 77th minute when Gonzalo Melero set up Francisco Portillo, who eased the ball into the nets.
Espanyol forward Joselu got the touring side’s consolation goal in stoppage time to close in gap with the leading scorer Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (13) with his 11th of the season.
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BARCELONA: Celta Vigo’s substitute Jorgen Larsen struck in the 68th minute to draw 1-1 level for his side against Villarreal in the ongoing La Liga 2022/23 but the latter edged into the Champions League.
Villarreal were in complete control of the game when Gerard Moreno struck the opener in just the 15th minute.
Following the early deficit, Celta responded with some close calls but Pepe Reina blocked them to keep the visitors in the lead.
Celta’s greatest effort came just before halftime but the 40-year-old goalkeeper closed fast to block Iago Aspas’ shot and put it wide.
Villarreal then looked to double their lead in the second half but José Morales clipped the crossbar. However, briefly, after that Celta finally managed to fire in the equalizer in the 68th minute off Larsen.
Larsen’s second-half goal marked his first for Celta in 13 games since joining the side in the summer.
Meanwhile, despite missing the opportunity to claim a victory, Villarreal earned the qualification for the Champions League as they claimed a point that they needed to stay in fourth place.
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ELCHE: Veteran striker Iago Aspas’ fifth-minute goal was enough to power Celta Vigo to run through the winless Elche and ended their eight-match losing streak in the ongoing LaLiga 2022/23.
The rock-bottom Elche continued to struggle in the ongoing season of the Spanish league as they remain the only team without a win after 16 league matches.
Elche’s defeat came following an unwanted start to the year 2023 as the side relegated from the Copa del Rey courtesy of a 1-0 loss at the hands of third-division club Ceuta.
Newly-appointed coach Pablo Machín also failed to turn the fortune in the bottom-ranked Elche’s favour as he sustained his third defeat after taking the charge. His first match was a 2-0 loss at Atlético Madrid before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Celta Vigo, which got the match-winner in just the fifth minute off Aspas, ended their eight-match losing streak, while their last triumph was in October against Real Betis. It also had been eliminated in the Copa del Rey midweek.
The triumph over Elche lifted Celta Vigo to 16th spot, three points clear of the relegation zone.
On the other hand, Cadiz also enjoyed a similar outcome in their match at Valencia as the side ended a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 triumph over the hosts and moved out of the relegation zone.
Cadiz, however, found their match-winner in the ninth minute when Ruben Alcaraz struck from just outside the box off Ruben Sobrino’s astounding assist having carried the ball all the way through before firing a perfect pass.
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MADRID: Karim Benzema shrugged off his World Cup misery with two late goals that powered Real Madrid to thump Valladolid 2-0 on Friday to take over the top spot in LaLiga standings.
Ballon d’Or winner Benzema was initially named in the French squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar but an untimely thigh injury amid training forced the striker to withdraw hours before the commencement of the opening game.
Benzema then decided to hang his boots from international football, following the conclusion of the mega event in which France endured a frustrating defeat in the final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
In his first La Liga fixture after the World Cup however, the French striker scored his first goal in the competition since October 19 when Real Madrid defeated Elche.
However, it took him 83 minutes to score his first goal of the game, which came from a penalty that was granted after Javi Sanchez was fouled for handball.
Benzema then soon made it double when he scored from a pass by French compatriot Eduardo Camavinga to add further to the misery of 10-men Valladolid, courtesy of a red card for Sergio Leon.
Following the victory, Real Madrid claimed the top spot in the league’s standings one point clear of second-placed Barcelona, who, however, can reclaim the top position on Saturday when they take on city rivals Espanyol.
Meanwhile, the other two La Liga fixtures between Sevilla and Celta Vigo and Almeria versus Cadiz ended in a one-all draw.
The action-filled matches of LaLiga 2022-23 are being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and are simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.
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MADRID: Joao Felix came off the bench to save a point for Atletico Madrid against 10-man Espanyol in a 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano on Sunday.
The home side had a chance to cut their deficit to six points on Real Madrid, which will take on Rayo Vallecano today, but eventually finished in third with 10 points behind table-topper Barcelona.
The game had begun with some jeers from the crowd following Atletico’s exit from the Champions League, and the mood did not ameliorate as the side struggled to take down the visitors.
Leandro Cabrera’s send-off in the first half appeared to be a perfect set-up for the hosts, yet they fell behind despite having an extra man after Sergio Darder volleyed past Jan Oblak in the 62nd minute.
Joao Felix arrived to score the equalizer with a little over 10 minutes remaining, but a draw still proved to be a disappointing outcome for Atletico’s coach Diego Simeone in the circumstances.
Meanwhile, in the second fixture on Sunday, Samuel Lino denied Real Sociedad a home win as Valencia finished in a 1-1 draw at Anoeta Stadium.
Mallorca, on the other hand, sealed a sensational 2-0 win over Villareal thanks to the superb strikes by Vedat Muriqi and Amath.
Whereas, at Estadio Benito Villamarín, visitors Sevilla held off Real Betis with a late equalizer by Nemanja Gudelj after the home side was down to nine-man.
The action-filled matches of LaLiga 2022-23 are being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and is simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.
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